The West Laurens Raiders will square off against the Harlem Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. West Laurens knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past eight matches -- so hopefully Harlem likes a good challenge.
West Laurens is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. Everything went their way against Academy of Richmond County on Friday as West Laurens made off with an 84-63 win. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 51-28.
Nas Jones
| 01/28/25 @ Harlem | 15 |
| 02/07/25 vs Academy of Richmond County | 13 |
| 02/04/25 @ Cross Creek | 9 |
| 12/10/24 vs Howard | 9 |
| 11/23/24 @ Jeff Davis | 7 |
| + 17 more games |
It was another big night for Nas Jones, who dropped a double-double with 16 points and 13 boards. He has become a key player for West Laurens: the team is 3-1 when he posts at least eight rebounds, but 8-11 otherwise. Another player making a difference was RJ Whipple, who went 5 for 8 en route to 17 points.
West Laurens smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Harlem posted their biggest victory since December 17, 2024 on Monday. They were the clear victor by a 77-54 margin over Howard. The win continues a trend for the Bulldogs in their matchups with the Huskies : they've now won three in a row.
West Laurens better keep an eye on Jayden Futrell. He was instrumental in Harlem's win, dropping a double-double with 16 points and 11 boards. The dominant performance also gave Futrell a new career-high in blocks (five). Aj Williams was another key player, going 8 of 15 on his way to 20 points in addition to six assists and three steals.
West Laurens is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 11-12 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 70.3 points over those games. As for Harlem, the victory got them back to even at 12-12.
Keep an eye on the arc in Tuesday's game: West Laurens has been dynamite from deep this season, having made 35.2% of their threes per game. It's a different story for Harlem, though, as they've only made 27% of their three-pointers this season. Given West Laurens' sizable advantage in that area, Harlem will need to find a way to close that gap.
West Laurens strolled past Harlem when the teams last played two weeks ago by a score of 60-43. Will West Laurens repeat their success, or does Harlem have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
