Basketball Game Preview: Croatan Cougars vs. Havelock Rams

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Previous 5 Games

01/23/26 - Home	60-57 W
12/12/25 - Away	63-58 W
11/26/24 - Home	110-77 W
01/05/24 - Home	75-48 W
11/21/23 - Away	76-69 W

Croatan has gone a perfect 5-0 against Havelock recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The two teams will face off at 6:10 p.m. without much rest, having both just played. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Croatan will bounce into Friday's matchup after beating West Carteret, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. The Cougars were the clear victors by a 72-48 margin over the Patriots on Thursday. The Cougars have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won nine games by 22 points or more this season.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Croatan to victory, but perhaps none more so than Kannon McBride, who dropped a double-double with 27 points and 13 boards. That makes it six consecutive games in which McBride has scored at least a third of the Cougars' points. Another player making a difference was Tyler Thorpe, who went 6-for-9 from beyond the arc en route to 22 points and six assists.

Croatan was working as a unit and finished the game with 20 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in February of 2025.

Meanwhile, Havelock entered their tilt with Swansboro on Thursday with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They strolled past the Pirates with points to spare, taking the game 76-57.

Havelock's win bumped their record up to 13-9. As for Croatan, their victory bumped their record up to 20-6.

Croatan came out on top in a nail-biter against Havelock when the teams last played back in January, sneaking past 60-57. Will the Cougars repeat their success, or do the Rams have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.