Aurora Central and Adams City are an even 5-5 against one another since December of 2019, but not for long. The Aurora Central Trojans are taking a road trip to challenge the Adams City Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Aurora Central is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 52.4 points per game this season.
Adams City better have a healthy lead at halftime, because if last week is any indication, that's when Aurora Central really get things going. Aurora Central blew past Gateway 79-53 on Tuesday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Trojans.
Aurora Central relied on the efforts of Alejandro (Alex) Flores, who went 10 of 20 en route to 29 points along with five rebounds and three steals, and Deon Davis Jr, who almost dropped a double-double on 18 points and nine boards. That makes it three consecutive games in which Flores has scored at least a third of Aurora Central's points. Jonties Brewer also deserves some recognition as he grabbed his first steal of the season.
Aurora Central smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in eight consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Adams City, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Thursday. They walked away with a 44-33 win over Skyview on Tuesday. The victory was some much needed relief for the Eagles as it spelled an end to their four-game losing streak.
Adams City's win came from a few key players Aurora Central will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Sebastian Garcia, who went 7 for 13 on his way to 15 points. Those 15 points gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Elijah Vigil, who posted eight points.
Aurora Central pushed their record up to 9-8 with the win, which was their third straight at home. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.3 points per game. As for Adams City, their victory ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 4-14.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Aurora Central has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 33.5 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Adams City struggles in that department as they've been averaging 26.3 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Aurora Central didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Adams City in their previous meeting back in January, but they still walked away with a 60-55 win. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Adams City's Jojo Martinez, who went 9 of 19 en route to 28 points. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Aurora Central still be able to contain Martinez? There's only one way to find out.
