Memphis Central and Memphis East are an even 5-5 against one another since February of 2019, but not for long. After both having extra time off, both will dust off their jerseys to square off against one another at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Memphis Central will be strutting in after a victory while Memphis East will be coming in after a defeat.
Last Saturday, Memphis Central narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past Center Hill 46-44.
Memphis East has been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They came up short against Madison-Ridgeland Academy last Saturday, falling 73-47. While losing is never fun, the Mustangs can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 92nd in Tennessee, while the Patriots are ranked 18th in Mississippi).
Despite the loss, Memphis East saw an underclassman step up: freshman Jayla Johnson posted eight points and 13 rebounds. Those 13 boards set a new season-high mark for Johnson.
Even though they lost, Memphis East smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 27 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 13 offensive boards in five consecutive matchups.
Memphis East's defeat dropped their record down to 7-4. As for Memphis Central, their victory bumped their record up to 5-3.
Memphis Central couldn't quite finish off Memphis East in their previous matchup back in February of 2024 and fell 64-62. Can Memphis Central avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
