Timberline is 9-1 against the Rams since February of 2020, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Timberline Blazers will head out on the road to challenge the North Thurston Rams at 7:45 p.m. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a six-game winning streak alive.
Last Tuesday, Timberline didn't have too much trouble with the Seahawks on the road as they won 70-54. 70 seems to be a good number for Timberline as the team scooped up a victory with the same number of points in their previous game.
Josh Tichenor and Darrell Gipson were among the main playmakers for Timberline as the former scored 16 points along with seven steals and five assists and the latter scored 23 points along with six rebounds and two steals. Gipson is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 16 or more in the last four games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Cedric Ragland Jr, who scored nine points along with five steals.
In what's become a running theme this season, North Thurston gave their fans yet another huge win on Tuesday. They claimed a resounding 71-36 victory over Gig Harbor at home. North Thurston pushed the score to 49-20 by the end of the third, a deficit the Tides had little chance of recovering from.
It was another big night for Ray Adams, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and 12 rebounds. He hasn't dropped below two blocks for four straight games. Ahmari Steplight was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with two steals.
Timberline has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won ten of their last 11 matches, which provided a massive bump to their 13-6 record this season. As for North Thurston, they pushed their record up to 18-2 with that victory, which was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Timberline have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 26.5 rebounds per game. However, it's not like North Thurston struggles in that department as they've been averaging 33.4 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Timberline came up short against the Rams when the teams last played back in January, falling 70-57. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Adams, who dropped a double-double on 23 points and 13 rebounds. Now that Timberline knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
