Basketball Game Preview: Morristown-Hamblen East Hurricanes vs. Mundy's Mill Tigers

The Morristown-Hamblen East Hurricanes will be taking part in a tournament against the Mundy's Mill Tigers at 1:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Morristown-Hamblen East will head into Tuesday's contest on the come-up: they were handed a 44-point defeat in their previous outing, but that didn't affect their clutch gene on Tuesday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Elizabethton 71-69. The win was all the more spectacular given the Hurricanes' disadvantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee basketball rankings (they are ranked 215th, while the Fighting Cyclones are ranked 102nd).

Morristown-Hamblen East's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Cory Carpenter, who went 9 of 14 on his way to 23 points and seven assists. Those 23 points gave Carpenter a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaxson Archer, who went 6 of 14 on his way to 17 points in addition to six rebounds and four steals.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Mundy's Mill, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Friday. They pulled ahead with a 62-61 photo finish over Forest Park on Tuesday.

Morristown-Hamblen East better focus on containing Ryan Babb and Christopher Johnson as the pair were huge in Mundy's Mill's win. Babb went 7 for 10 on his way to 16 points and three steals, while Johnson went 5 of 9 on his way to 17 points and six rebounds. The game was Johnson's fourth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Kenneth West, who posted seven points.

Mundy's Mill is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 8-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.5 points per game. As for Morristown-Hamblen East, their victory ended a seven-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 3-9.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Morristown-Hamblen East has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 22.3 boards per game. However, it's not like Mundy's Mill struggles in that department as they've been averaging 20.6 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.