The Baldwin Braves will head out on the road to challenge the Westside Patriots at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
On Tuesday, Baldwin humbled Academy of Richmond County with an 82-54 victory. Given the Braves' advantage in MaxPreps' Georgia basketball rankings (they are ranked 84th, while the Musketeers are ranked 292nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Deven Nelson was his usual excellent self, shooting 4-for-7 from deep and dropping a double-double with 42 points and 11 rebounds. What's more, he also posted a 57% three-point shooting accuracy, which is the highest he's posted since back in December of 2024. Another player making a difference was Karez Demory, who went 8 of 17 to rack up 21 points and six steals.
Baldwin smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in ten consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Westside didn't have too much trouble with Howard on Friday as they won 62-48. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Patriots.
Baldwin better keep an eye on Dontrell Jackson. He was instrumental in Westside's win, going 9 for 13 en route to 23 points in addition to eight boards and seven steals. Jackson is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed three or more in the last seven games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Aldrion Jones, who dropped a double-double with 11 points and ten rebounds.
Baldwin is on a roll lately: they've won 13 of their last 16 games, which provided a nice bump to their 19-7 record this season. As for Westside, their record now sits at 16-9.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the two teams are some of the highest-scoring teams around. Baldwin hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 62.4 points per game. However, it's not like Westside struggles in that department as they've been averaging 67.9 points. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can put up more.
Baldwin beat Westside 72-65 in their previous meeting two weeks ago. The rematch might be a little tougher for Baldwin since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
