Basketball Game Preview: Apex Cougars vs. Union Pines Vikings

The Apex Cougars will take on the Union Pines Vikings in a tournament on Friday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Apex has struggled recently with four losses in a row, while Union Pines will arrive with nine straight victories.

Last Tuesday, Apex came up short against Panther Creek and fell 50-40. While losing is never fun, the Cougars can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 520th, while the Catamounts are ranked 218th).

Despite the defeat, Apex saw an underclassman step up: freshman Jordan Mele posted eight points and five steals. Those five steals set a new season-high mark for Mele. The team also got some help courtesy of Mia Pease, who earned nine points.

Meanwhile, a well-balanced attack led Union Pines over Southern Alamance in every quarter on their way to victory on Tuesday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Union Pines blew Southern Alamance out of the water with a 55-15 final score. The Vikings have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight matchups by 22 points or more this season.

Union Pines' win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 9-0. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 41 points. As for Apex, their loss dropped their record down to 1-8.

Apex was taken down by Union Pines 58-25 in their previous matchup back in November of 2017. Will Apex have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.