The East Robertson Indians waltzed into their matchup on Tuesday with two straight wins but they left with three. They were the clear victor by a 58-38 margin over Merrol Hyde Magnet. Given East Robertson's advantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee basketball rankings (they are ranked 185th, while Merrol Hyde Magnet is ranked 384th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Merrol Hyde Magnet lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Bennett Altepeter, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 12 rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Altepeter has scored all season. Sam Mullins was another key contributor, scoring nine points along with two steals.
Even though they lost, Merrol Hyde Magnet smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. This was only their ninth loss (out of 12 games) when they hit their own glass that hard.
East Robertson has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine contests, which provided a nice bump to their 11-8 record this season. As for Merrol Hyde Magnet, they are on a five-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 3-12.
East Robertson will look to defend their home court on Friday against Jo Byrns at 6:00 a.m. Jo Byrns is hoping to put an end to a three-game streak of away losses. As for Merrol Hyde Magnet, they will head out on the road to face off against White House at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. One thing working in White House's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last seven matchups.
