The Cardinal Newman Cardinals had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 9.5 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Tuesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Hammond and snuck past 42-40. That result was just more of the same for these two, as Cardinal Newman also won the last time the pair played back in January.
Amarii King was his usual excellent self, scoring 18 points along with two steals. He hasn't dropped below two steals for three straight games. Another player making a difference was Elton Smith jr., who scored four points along with five assists and two steals.
Cardinal Newman pushed their record up to 17-14 with that victory, which was their fifth straight at home. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 55.4 points per game. As for Hammond, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 12-8.
Cardinal Newman won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Trinity Collegiate at 7:30 p.m. on February 7th. Trinity Collegiate has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games. As for Hammond, they will be playing at home against Heathwood Hall Episcopal at 7:15 p.m. on Friday. Heathwood Hall Episcopal has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 189 points over their last three matches.
