Two dominant guards in Brayson Shoults and Hayden Hess are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The South Vermillion Wildcats will head out on the road to face off against the Southmont Mounties at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (South Vermillion has three straight wins, Southmont has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Last Saturday, it was close, but South Vermillion sidestepped Clay City for a 54-52 win. Given South Vermillion's advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 48th, while Clay City is ranked 156th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
South Vermillion's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Shoults, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and ten rebounds. The contest was Shoults' sixth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Luke Bush, who scored 11 points along with five assists and four steals.
Meanwhile, Southmont came up short against Western Boone on Friday and fell 58-45.
Despite the defeat, Southmont had strong showings from Carter Hubble, who scored 17 points along with nine rebounds, and Hess, who scored ten points along with seven rebounds and seven steals. Those seven steals set a new season-high mark for him.
Even though they lost, Southmont were smashing the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
South Vermillion's victory bumped their record up to 5-1. As for Southmont, they now have a losing record at 2-3.
This contest is shaping up to be a blowout: South Vermillion hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having only averaged 64.5 points per game. It's a different story for Southmont, though, as they've been averaging only 45.4 points per game. The only thing between South Vermillion and another offensive beatdown is Southmont. Will they be able to keep them contained?
South Vermillion came up short against Southmont when the teams last played back in February, falling 71-63. Can South Vermillion avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
