The Erie Red Devils will square off against the Oxford Wildcats at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Erie walked away with it. They walked away with a 46-38 win over the Spartans on Tuesday. That's two games straight that Erie has won by exactly eight points.
Erie's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Reid Duff led the charge by scoring 20 points along with five rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Ethan Dillinger, who scored 12 points along with eight rebounds and three steals.
Meanwhile, Oxford waltzed into their match on Tuesday with three straight wins but they left with four. They came out on top against Southeast by a score of 58-45. Given Oxford's advantage in MaxPreps' Kansas basketball rankings (they are ranked 119th, while Southeast is ranked 311th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Oxford relied on the efforts of Kellen Green, who scored 20 points along with eight rebounds and three steals, and Cordell Jordan, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 12 rebounds. Jordan is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as he's now pulled down eight or more in the last eight games he's played. Cayden Carpenter was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with eight rebounds.
Erie is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 17-5 record this season. As for Oxford, their win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 17-4.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Erie have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 31.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Oxford struggles in that department as they've been averaging 33.7 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
