Norland is 10-0 against Central since February of 2018, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Norland Vikings will take on the Central Rockets at TBD. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the pair posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Norland struggled with assists on Saturday (Winter Haven had eight more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Norland took a 73-68 hit to the loss column at the hands of Winter Haven. While losing is never fun, Norland can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 29th, while Winter Haven is ranked fourth).
Defeat or not, Norland got some senior leadership from Marcus Allen and Triston Wilson. Allen scored 24 points along with six rebounds, while Wilson. scored 21 points along with eight rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Kendrick Preston, who scored five points along with five rebounds and four blocks.
Meanwhile, two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Central walked away with it. They secured a 60-54 W over the Patriots on Tuesday. The victory was nothing new for Central as they're now sitting on nine straight.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Central to victory, but perhaps none more so than Willie Dye III, who dropped a double-double on ten points and ten rebounds. Another player making a difference was Justin Suarez, who scored 11 points along with seven rebounds.
Norland's defeat dropped their record down to 14-10. As for Central, they are on a roll lately: they've won 12 of their last 13 games, which provided a nice bump to their 19-4 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Norland have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 30.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging 34.6 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything went Norland's way against Central when the teams last played back in November of 2021 as Norland made off with a 85-65 victory. With Norland ahead 43-23 at the half, the match was all but over already.
