Two dominant guards in Mason Mitchell and Lance Barnes are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Northwestern Trojans will head out on the road to challenge the Catawba Ridge Copperheads at 7:45 p.m. on Tuesday. Northwestern will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps South Carolina Rankings (they are ranked 52nd, while Catawba Ridge is ranked eighth).
Last Friday, Northwestern came up short against South Pointe and fell 60-47.
Northwestern's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Theron Young, who scored 12 points along with two steals, and Sir Joseph who scored seven points along with three steals.
Meanwhile, Catawba Ridge came tearing into Friday's match with six straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 40.7 points) and they left with even more momentum. Everything went their way against Indian Land as Catawba Ridge made off with a 64-38 victory. Catawba Ridge has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten games by 26 points or more this season.
Catawba Ridge's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Barnes, who scored 21 points along with five rebounds and two steals. Barnes has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last 15 times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Quh'Mareon Webb, who scored 13 points along with seven rebounds and five steals.
Northwestern has been struggling recently, as they've lost three of their last four matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 10-10 record this season. As for Catawba Ridge, their win was their seventh straight at home, which pushed their record up to 17-2.
This contest is shaping up to be a blowout: Northwestern hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having only averaged 54.9 points per game. It's a different story for Catawba Ridge, though, as they've been averaging only 71.7 points per game. The only thing between Northwestern and another offensive beatdown is Catawba Ridge. Will they be able to keep them contained?
Northwestern came up short against Catawba Ridge when the teams last played back in February of 2023, falling 73-63. Thankfully for Northwestern, Grant Lovette (who scored 25 points along with nine rebounds and two blocks) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
