J.L. Mann has enjoyed the comforts of home their last four games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will challenge the Gaffney Indians at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but J.L. Mann had no problem doing just that on Friday. They were the clear victor by a 76-54 margin over the Vikings. Given J.L. Mann's advantage in MaxPreps' South Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked eighth, while Spartanburg is ranked 99th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
J.L. Mann can attribute much of their success to Jade Hailstock, who almost dropped a double-double on 23 points and nine rebounds, and Imari Richardson, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 12 rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Hailstock has scored all season. Anaya Dillard was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with four steals.
Meanwhile, Gaffney waltzed into their contest last Friday with four straight wins but they left with five. They put the hurt on James F. Byrnes with a sharp 53-33 win.
Gaffney's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Lauren Mathis led the charge by scoring ten points along with six rebounds. Another player making a difference was Tianah Hopper, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and ten rebounds.
J.L. Mann is on a roll lately: they've won 16 of their last 18 games, which provided a nice bump to their 20-4 record this season. As for Gaffney, they pushed their record up to 19-5 with that victory, which was their sixth straight at home.
Monday's game is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: J.L. Mann have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 38.3% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Gaffney struggles in that department as they've made 41.1% of their threes this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
J.L. Mann strolled past Gaffney when the teams last played back in December of 2023 by a score of 65-47. Does J.L. Mann have another victory up their sleeve, or will Gaffney turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
