Swansboro has gone 10-0 against Croatan recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Tuesday. The Swansboro Pirates will take on the Croatan Cougars at 8:00 p.m. Swansboro knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past 16 games -- so hopefully Croatan likes a good challenge.
Swansboro is headed into the contest after thoroughly thrashing Richlands: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Swansboro blew Richlands out of the water with a 73-31 final score. The Pirates have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won nine matchups by 20 points or more this season.
| 01/29/25 vs Richlands | 4 |
| 01/28/25 vs Croatan | 5 |
| 01/27/25 @ Richlands | 3 |
Swansboro's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jermaine Cunningham, who went 5 for 10 en route to 10 points and four steals. Cunningham is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed three or more in the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Tayvion Tangiora, who went 7 of 12 on his way to 14 points in addition to seven rebounds and three blocks.
Swansboro was working as a unit and finished the game with 14 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Richlands only posted five assists.
Croatan got their first taste of in-conference action this week and they started things off strong. They took down Dixon 78-62 on Friday. Given the Cougars' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 135th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 595th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Croatan found their leader in sophomore Kannon McBride, who shot 7-for-13 from beyond the arc and almost dropped a double-double on 40 points and nine boards. As a matter of fact, that's the most points McBride has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaden Hilliard, who went 5 for 8 en route to 12 points and five steals.
Swansboro's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 15-1. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 34.2 points. As for Croatan, they are on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last ten games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-4 record this season.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Swansboro has been crashing the rebounds this season, having averaged 33 boards per game. However, it's not like Croatan struggles in that department as they've been averaging 34.9 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Everything came up roses for Swansboro against Croatan when the teams last played on Tuesday, as the squad secured a 99-62 victory. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Croatan's Trey Jones, who went 11 of 22 on his way to 30 points. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Swansboro still be able to contain Jones? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
