Basketball Game Preview: Seventy-First Falcons vs. Croatan Cougars

The Seventy-First Falcons will head out to take on the Croatan Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Seventy-First is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They blew past Southern Nash, posting a 72-42 victory. The Falcons' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.

Meanwhile, Croatan had already won 11 in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 22.5 points) and they went ahead and made it 12 on Tuesday. They enjoyed a cozy 60-41 win over the Patriots. Given the Cougars' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 113th, while the Patriots are ranked 274th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Croatan's win came from a few key players Seventy-First will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Neely McMannen, who to rack up 19 points. The game was her fifth in a row with at least 15 points. Another player making a difference was Leah Johnson, who en route to 13 points and three steals.

Croatan's victory was their tenth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 18-1. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.6 points over those games. As for Seventy-First, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 18-9 record this season.