The Burke Bulldogs will head out on the road to take on the Philip Simmons Iron Horses at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Burke is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 65.3 points per game this season.
Last Tuesday, Burke was fully in charge, breezing past St. John's 62-15. Given the Bulldogs' advantage in MaxPreps' South Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 114th, while the Islanders are ranked 295th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Burke's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Melachi Singleton, who posted eight points and six steals. Another player making a difference was Jordan Nelson, who went 5 of 8 on his way to 14 points.
Meanwhile, Philip Simmons posted their closest victory since November 22, 2024 two weeks ago. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Central Bucks West, sneaking past 33-30. The 33-point effort marked the Iron Horses' lowest-scoring match of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
Philip Simmons' win came from a few key players Burke will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Blake Darby, who went 5 of 10 en route to 10 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Corbin Driggers, who put up no points along with seven assists and four steals.
Philip Simmons is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a nice bump to their 8-5 record this season. As for Burke, their win bumped their record up to 10-5.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Burke has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 26.9 boards per game. However, it's not like Philip Simmons struggles in that department as they've been averaging 30.6 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Burke might still be hurting after the 67-41 defeat they got from Philip Simmons when the teams last played back in January of 2022. That game was all but decided by halftime, at which point Burke was down 33-12.
