After both having extra time off, the West Johnston Wildcats and the Southern Wayne Saints will shake off the cobwebs and square off against one another at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. West Johnston is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 50.9 points per game this season.
Two weeks ago, West Johnston came up short against Hunt and fell 60-47. While losing is never fun, the Wildcats can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 448th, while the Warriors are ranked 184th).
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Josh Dyson, who posted 15 points and seven boards. Caden Hartman was another key player, putting up eight points and nine rebounds.
Meanwhile, Southern Wayne also suffered a loss in their last game, but this one to Fike by a score of 70-59. The defeat continues a trend for the Saints in their matchups with the Demons: they've now lost three in a row.
Despite the loss, Southern Wayne saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Demetrius Elliot went 10 for 12 en route to 27 points. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Elliot has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Dorien Toussian, who put up six points and seven boards.
Even though they lost, Southern Wayne smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in 12 consecutive matchups.
West Johnston has been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-10 record this season. As for Southern Wayne, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-11.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: West Johnston has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 31.5 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Southern Wayne struggles in that department as they've been averaging 27.2 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
West Johnston took their win against Southern Wayne in their previous matchup on January 9th by a conclusive 65-44. The rematch might be a little tougher for West Johnston since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
