Saturday in the CMAC Preview

Saturday should be even more exciting then Friday in the Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference. We have a chance to see 3 league match-ups. Including four teams that played last night. Taft and West High riding high off of wins last night will meet to see who can remain undefeated; while Aiken and Woodward try to rebound from tough losses and avoid going 0-2 against teams that were off last night. Withrow does not play Saturday.

Let's look at the games:

• Shroder @ Aiken: Aiken cannot be happy with the way things turned out against Taft and they will be out to prove that they are still a very good team, Shroder on the other hand wants to get started on the right foot and prove that they are in the title discussion in the CMAC. Aiken freshman PG Tyonte Robertson gets another tough test in his young career as he will be doing battle with veteran Shroder PG Trey Dees. Expect that to be an exciting matchup as Robertson bounces back from last night and Dees brings his best to counter. The rest of the game will be dictated similarly to the Taft game: Aiken wants to get up and down and let their talented wings attack (hopefully without turning the ball over as much), Shroder wants to pound it inside to Jalen Billups, Ladell Griffin, and Randale Griffith. Whoever controls the pace should win this game.
  • Prediction:  Expect a close game the whole way. Shroder really gives Aiken a run but Aiken pulls away late and wins by a few points. Willy Moore will not have two bad nights in a row from the field, expect a big scoring night from him.
    
    
• Woodward @ Hughes: Does Hughes have a way to stop Trent Donald as they play their first home game in the newly renovated gym? Trent went for 19 against Withrow, but does he have enough gas in the tank to produce back to back nights? This will be one of the determining factors as Woodward faces a motivated Big Red team. PG play is a question area for both teams as freshman Aaron Oden makes his debut for Hughes while Woodward is still trying to find the answer in that department. 

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    Woodward's Trent Donald got his season started
    off the right way last night. Now can he lead
    his team to a win in the new Hughes gym?

    Prediction: It took a lot of energy for Woodward to stay with Withrow till the final shot last night. Expect Hughes to get off to a hot start and capitalize on fresher legs. If they can slow down Donald the game will come down to the wire. Woodward's pressure should be too much and The Bulldogs will come back for a close win.
    
    
• Taft @ West High: Taft didn't play up to their potential last night against a top ten team in Aiken, and they still won by 24. Meaning that Taft is really good. West High got started in a positive way with a road win against a decent Oak Hills team, and now they get to play at home where they are always tough. This game has the makings of an intense and physical showdown. West High has the bodies inside to bang with Adolphus Washington and Dwayne Stanford; who will both be motivated after sub-par opening performances. Can West High's guards handle Taft's pressure defense? That's going to be a tall order for a group known more for shooting then ballhandling.
  • Prediction: Taft will really look to play at a fast pace, which should be too much for West High to handle. Washington and Stanford both turn in nice performances. West High is much improved but they're just not quite ready to match up with conference favorites like Taft. Taft by about 15 on the road.