Basketball Game Preview: Kinston Bulldogs vs. McKenzie Tigers

The Kinston Bulldogs just played yesterday, but they'll still head out to face the McKenzie Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Kinston has struggled recently with three losses in a row, while McKenzie will arrive with four straight wins.

Kinston came up short against Florala on Thursday, falling 75-50. While losing is never fun, the Bulldogs can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Alabama basketball rankings (they are ranked 414th, while the Wildcats are ranked 138th).

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask McKenzie). They breezed by Elba to the tune of 80-31 on Thursday. With that victory, McKenzie brought their scoring average up to 51.1 points per game.

McKenzie's win came from a few key players Kinston will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Devin Covan, who went 10 for 11 on his way to 25 points and five rebounds. Those 25 points gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Quay Jackson, who almost dropped a double-double on 21 points and nine assists.

McKenzie was working as a unit and finished the game with 20 assists. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their assist total in three consecutive contests.

McKenzie pushed their record up to 9-3 with the win, which was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.8 points per game. As for Kinston, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-12.

Kinston came up short against McKenzie in their previous matchup back in December of 2024, falling 65-52. Can Kinston avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.