Basketball Game Preview: James Wood Colonels vs. Fauquier Falcons

James Wood has gone 9-1 against Fauquier recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The James Wood Colonels will venture away from home to take on the Fauquier Falcons at 7:30 p.m. Fauquier took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on James Wood, who comes in off a win.

While James Wood didn't have the best season last year (they finished 9-13), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They came out on top against Liberty by a score of 48-39 two weeks ago. Given the Colonels' advantage in MaxPreps' Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked 118th, while the Eagles are ranked 302nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead James Wood to victory, but perhaps none more so than Aubrey Nail, who posted 13 points and four steals. The dominant performance gave Nail a new career-high in points. Another player making a difference was Ashlyn Evans, who went 6 of 12 on her way to 16 points and seven rebounds.

James Wood smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in 19 consecutive contests dating back to last season.

Meanwhile, Fauquier came up short against Independence on Saturday, falling 50-30.

James Wood pushed their record up to 7-3 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 50.8 points per game. As for Fauquier, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-5.

Everything came up roses for James Wood against Fauquier when the teams last played on December 6th, as the team secured a 54-15 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for James Wood since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.