Even though the Central Gwinnett Black Knights scored an imposing 58 points on Friday, the Mill Creek Hawks still came out on top. Mill Creek rang in the new year with a 69-58 win over Central Gwinnett. That's another feather in the cap for Mill Creek, who also won these teams' last head-to-head.
Despite the defeat, Central Gwinnett saw an underclassman step up: Malik Rideout scored 22 points along with eight rebounds. Those 22 points set a new season-high mark for him. Another player making a difference was Phillip Howard, who scored seven points.
The win got Mill Creek back to even at 8-8. As for Central Gwinnett, they now have a losing record at 6-7.
Mill Creek will look to defend their home court on Tuesday against Buford at 7:30 p.m. Buford presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than Mill Creek in Georgia (Buford is ranked tenth, while Mill Creek is ranked 140th). Central Gwinnett won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Walnut Grove at 2:00 p.m. on January 6th. Walnut Grove knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with flashy point totals in its past three matches -- so hopefully Central Gwinnett likes a good challenge.
