Southport and Franklin Central are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2018, but not for long. The Southport Cardinals will challenge the Franklin Central Flashes at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Southport knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past three games -- so hopefully Franklin Central likes a good challenge.
Southport is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They walked away with a 61-52 win over Decatur Central. The victory continues a trend for the Cardinals in their matchups with the Hawks: they've now won three in a row.
Jack Turner
| 03/04/25 vs Decatur Central | 10 |
| 12/20/24 @ Bloomington North | 9 |
| 12/15/23 vs Bloomington North | 9 |
| 02/19/24 @ Terre Haute South Vigo | 8 |
| 02/10/24 vs Hamilton Southeastern | 8 |
Jack Turner had a dynamite game for Southport, dropping a double-double with 21 points and ten rebounds. The dominant performance gave Turner a new career-high in boards. Another player making a difference was James Kalala, who dropped a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Southport smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 21 offensive rebounds. They are 6-3 when they hit their own glass that hard.
Meanwhile, Franklin Central had to endure a five-game losing streak, but that streak is no more. Everything went their way against Indianapolis Bishop Chatard on Friday as Franklin Central made off with a 65-41 win. Given the Flashes' advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 100th, while the Trojans are ranked 284th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Southport better focus on containing Elijah Thompson and Ej Hazelett as the pair were huge in Franklin Central's win. Thompson dropped a double-double with 16 points and 11 boards, while Hazelett went 5-for-9 to rack up 12 points along with seven assists and six rebounds. Thompson continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last four games he's played. Raymond Hayes was another key player, putting up nine points.
Franklin Central picked up their first road victory, bumping their record up to 7-14. As for Southport, they now have a winning record of 12-11.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Southport has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 27.4 boards per game. However, it's not like Franklin Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging 22.3 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Southport couldn't quite finish off Franklin Central in their previous matchup back in January and fell 57-55. Can Southport avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
