Basketball Game Preview: Martin County Gators vs. Pamlico County Hurricanes

The Martin County Gators are taking a road trip to challenge the Pamlico County Hurricanes at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Martin County is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last three games.

Last Friday, in a tight contest that could have gone either way, Martin County made off with a 54-53 victory over Perquimans. Given the Gators' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 197th, while the Pirates are ranked 590th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Martin County's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jordan Matthewson, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 14 rebounds. Matthewson has been hot, having posted eight or more boards the last eight times he's played. Kamarion Larry was another key player, putting up 17 points in addition to five rebounds and three steals.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Pamlico County, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Thursday. They had just enough and edged East Carteret out 41-38. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Hurricanes have posted against the Mariners since February 4, 2022.

Martin County is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a nice bump to their 10-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 66.4 points per game. As for Pamlico County, they moved to 2-10 with that win, which also ended their three-game losing streak.

Everything came up roses for Martin County against Pamlico County when the teams last played on January 2nd, as the team secured a 78-37 victory. In that matchup, Martin County amassed a halftime lead of 44-19, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Thursday.