After both having extra time off, the Charlotte Fightin' Tarpons and the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders will shake off the cobwebs and hit the court one another at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday. Charlotte knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past ten contests -- so hopefully St. Thomas Aquinas likes a good challenge.
Charlotte is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup last Thursday. They managed a 64-60 win over Wharton.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Charlotte to victory, but perhaps none more so than Dior Evans, who shot 67% from the field on his way to 17 points. The last time Evans' field goal percentage was this high was back in January of 2024. Another player making a difference was Khrye Ellis, who went 5-for-10 en route to 12 points and seven boards.
Meanwhile, St. Thomas Aquinas came tearing into last Thursday's game with 11 straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 23.1 points), and they left with even more momentum. They came out on top against the Colts by a score of 62-54. Given the Raiders' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked third, while the Colts are ranked 53rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Charlotte better keep an eye on Dwayne Wimbley Jr.. He was instrumental in St. Thomas Aquinas' win, shooting 69% from the field to rack up 24 points and seven rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Drake (DJ) Sandi, who posted nine points along with eight assists and three steals.
Charlotte is on a roll lately: they've won 14 of their last 15 matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 22-6 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 68.8 points over those games. St. Thomas Aquinas' record is now 28-2.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Charlotte has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 28.6 boards per game. However, it's not like St. Thomas Aquinas struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32.3 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
