It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but the Covington-Douglas Wildcats had no problem doing just that on Thursday. They strolled past the Wildcats with points to spare, taking the game 51-33. Given Covington-Douglas' advantage in MaxPreps' Oklahoma basketball rankings (they are ranked 221st, while Welch is ranked 456th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Covington-Douglas was led to victory by Ford Smith and Derrek Daugherty. Smith scored 14 points along with five steals, while Daugherty dropped a double-double on 13 points and 13 rebounds. Daugherty hasn't dropped below three blocks for five straight games. Another player making a difference was Kade Griffin, who scored nine points.
Welch's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Thomas Ashworth, who scored four points along with six rebounds. Eric Pitcher was another key contributor, scoring four points along with five rebounds and two steals.
Even though they lost, Welch smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Covington-Douglas only pulled down six offensive rebounds.
Covington-Douglas is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 16-10 record this season. As for Welch, they have been struggling recently as they've lost seven of their last eight games, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-16 record this season.
Covington-Douglas and Kremlin-Hillsdale will face off on February 16th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Kremlin-Hillsdale has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 271 points over their last four games. Welch does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
