Two dominant guards in Cal Pass Jr. and Jaleel Smith are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Crest Chargers will be playing at home against the Huss Huskies at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Crest knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past 18 contests -- so hopefully Huss likes a good challenge.
Last Friday, Crest was able to grind out a solid victory over Kings Mountain, taking the game 72-63. Given the Chargers' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 46th, while the Mountaineers are ranked 176th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Omari Faulkner
| 02/14/25 @ Kings Mountain | 18 |
| 12/13/24 vs North Gaston | 16 |
| 01/17/25 vs South Point | 12 |
| 12/26/24 vs Burns | 12 |
| 01/07/25 @ Huss | 11 |
Crest got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Omari Faulkner out in front who went 7-for-12 en route to 18 points. Those 18 points gave Faulkner a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of D'Various Surratt, who dropped a double-double with 14 points and ten boards.
Crest smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in 12 consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Huss fought the good fight in their overtime game against Ashbrook on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They took a 95-89 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Greenwave. The Huskies have struggled against the Greenwave recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive lost matchup.
Crest will have to keep a close watch on Zaiyir 'Zii' Phillips and Smith, a pair of players who had a big impact on Huss' prior game. Phillips went 8-for-18 on his way to 30 points along with five rebounds and three steals, while Smith posted 26 points in addition to five boards and three steals. Smith's evening made it 11 games in a row in which he has scored at least 15 points. Another player making a difference was Antonio Worthy, who went 7-for-13 to rack up 15 points.
Crest is on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 11 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 19-2 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 69.4 points over those games. As for Huss, their defeat dropped their record down to 15-7.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Crest has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 34.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Huss struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Crest didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against Huss in their previous meeting back in January, but they still walked away with a 65-59 victory. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Smith, who went 11-for-22 en route to 35 points. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Crest still be able to contain Smith? There's only one way to find out.
