The West Warwick Wizards will finish 2023 at home by hosting the Toll Gate Titans at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Hopefully West Warwick focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 16 on Wednesday.
West Warwick's 18-7 record from last season is now well into the rear view mirror after another tough outing. They took a 55-49 hit to the loss column at the hands of Moses Brown.
West Warwick's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Dylan Viveiros , who dropped a double-double on 17 points and ten rebounds, and Owen Stearns who scored 17 points along with six rebounds. The game was Stearns' third in a row with at least ten points. James Branch was another key contributor, scoring four points along with three steals.
Meanwhile, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Toll Gate beat Tiverton 45-39 two weeks ago. The team accrued 33 points in the first half and coasted on those for the win.
Toll Gate relied on the efforts of Will Goodine, who scored seven points along with seven rebounds and five assists, and Dylan Perreault , who dropped a double-double on 21 points and 21 rebounds. Perreault is absolutely dominating the rebound category: he's posted at least eight every time he's taken the court this season.
West Warwick now has a losing record at 1-2. As for Toll Gate, their win ended a seven-game drought at home dating back to last season and bumped them up to 1-2.
Thursday's match is shaping up to be a scrappy match: West Warwick have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 28 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Toll Gate struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 35 rebounds per game. Given West Warwick's sizeable advantage in that area, Toll Gate will need to find a way to close that gap.
West Warwick couldn't quite finish off Toll Gate in their previous meeting back in January of 2022 and fell 50-47. Can West Warwick avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
