Basketball Game Preview: Croatan Cougars vs. West Carteret Patriots

Croatan hasn't had much luck against West Carteret recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Cougars will be home for the holidays to greet the Patriots at 8:30 p.m. One thing working in Croatan's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last six matchups.

On Friday, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Croatan beat Havelock 63-58. The Cougars haven't had any issues with the Rams recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive victory against them.

Kannon McBride

Points

12/12/25 @ Havelock	29
12/09/25 vs White Oak	36
12/05/25 @ Cape Hatteras Secondary	16
12/03/25 @ East Carteret	19
12/02/25 vs East Duplin	24
+ 8 more games

Kannon McBride had another great game (as he tends to do), shooting 47% from the field en route to 29 points and six boards. His evening made it 13 games in a row in which he has scored at least 16 points. Another player making a difference was Gavin Zheng, who posted ten points.

Croatan smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in four consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask West Carteret). They simply couldn't be stopped on Friday as they easily beat Richlands 86-53. The Patriots have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five games by 25 points or more this season.

Croatan's win bumped their record up to 6-1. As for West Carteret, their victory bumped their record up to 5-3.

Croatan couldn't quite finish off West Carteret in their previous matchup back in February and fell 91-88. Can the Cougars avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.