Basketball Game Preview: Statesville Christian Lions vs. Salem Baptist Christian Vikings

The Statesville Christian Lions just played yesterday, but they'll still head out to face the Salem Baptist Christian Vikings at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Neither of those teams managed to put together many points in their previous contests, so the offenses might be a little more motivated than usual.

On Thursday, in a tight match that could have gone either way, Statesville Christian made off with a 25-24 victory over North Hills Christian. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Lions.

Meanwhile, Salem Baptist Christian was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their eighth straight loss. They were beaten by University Christian 59-7. While losing is never fun, the Vikings can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 595th, while the Barracudas are ranked 297th).

Statesville Christian has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 8-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 22.6 points per game. As for Salem Baptist Christian, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-8.

Everything came up roses for Statesville Christian against Salem Baptist Christian in their previous matchup back in December of 2022, as the team secured a 56-19 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Statesville Christian since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.