The 21st Century Charter COUGARS will head out on the road to face off against the Hammond Central Wolves at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Hopefully 21st Century Charter focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 20 on Tuesday.
21st Century Charter fought the good fight in their overtime matchup against Valparaiso but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They took a 68-64 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Vikings. Having run the score up that high, both teams might be doing some extra defensive drills very soon.
21st Century Charter's defeat came about despite a quality game from Lemetrius "Meachy" Williams, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 11 rebounds. Williams is absolutely dominating the rebound category: he's posted at least eight every time he's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Ron Mosely, who scored 11 points.
Even though they lost, 21st Century Charter were smashing the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Valparaiso only pulled down 11 offensive rebounds.
Meanwhile, the third road contest was the charm for Hammond Central, as they earned their first road win of the season. They were the clear victor by a 67-41 margin over Lighthouse College Prep Academy. The victory was just what Hammond Central needed coming off of a 70-34 defeat in their prior contest.
Hammond Central got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Gregory Dotson out in front who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 11 assists. Dotson set a new season high mark in steals with five. Another player making a difference was Marcus Browder, who scored 18 points along with seven rebounds and five assists.
21st Century Charter now has a losing record at 2-3. As for Hammond Central, the win got them back to even at 4-4.
Friday's contest is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: 21st Century Charter have been dynamite from deep this season, having drained 45.6% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Hammond Central struggles in that department as they've drained 40.8% of their threes per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
21st Century Charter came up short against Hammond Central in their previous meeting back in December of 2022, falling 81-73. Can 21st Century Charter avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
