The Jo Byrns Red Devils will head out to face off against the Portland Panthers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Jo Byrns proved they can win big on Friday (they won by 34) and on Tuesday they proved they can win the close ones too. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Kenwood, sneaking past 44-42. The 44-point effort marked the Red Devils' lowest-scoring contest of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
Meanwhile, Portland entered their tilt with East Robertson on Tuesday with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They walked away with a 62-52 win over the Indians. While the Panthers didn't have the best season last year (they finished 12-16), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Portland's win came from a few key players Jo Byrns will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Keilen Dalton, who almost dropped a double-double with 22 points and nine boards. He continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Tristan Calvert was another key player, shooting 47% from the field on his way to 17 points and seven rebounds.
Jo Byrns' record is now 5-1. As for Portland, their record now sits at 6-3.
Jo Byrns came up short against Portland in their previous meeting back in February, falling 101-96. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Dalton, who dropped a double-double with 33 points and 15 boards. Now that the Red Devils know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
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