The Chickasaw Chieftains will wrap up 2023 with a road trip to face off against the Bryant Hurricanes at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Chickasaw has three straight victories, Bryant has ten straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Last Wednesday, Chickasaw blew past Fruitdale, posting a 71-34 win at home. Given Chickasaw's advantage in MaxPreps' Alabama basketball rankings (they are ranked 203rd, while Fruitdale is ranked 425th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Chickasaw's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was JaVon Mose, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 13 rebounds. Those 13 rebounds set a new season-high mark for him. Another player making a difference was Marvin Brooks, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and ten rebounds.
Meanwhile, Bryant pushed their score all the way to 57 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They ended up on the wrong side of a tough 77-57 walloping at the hands of Vigor.
Chickasaw's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-3. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.3 points per game. As for Bryant, their loss dropped their record down to 1-11.
Chickasaw didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Bryant when the teams last played last Thursday, but they still walked away with a 60-55 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Chickasaw since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
