Basketball Game Preview: Bandys Trojans vs. East Burke Cavaliers

Bandys is 7-1 against East Burke since December of 2021 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Monday. The Bandys Trojans will look to defend their home court against the East Burke Cavaliers at 7:30 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

East Burke will be up against a hot Bandys squad: the team just extended their winning streak to four. Bandys was the clear victors by a 75-53 margin over Bunker Hill on Friday. Given the Trojans' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 165th, while the Bears are ranked 563rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Landon Vaughan

Points

02/14/25 @ Bunker Hill	27
02/11/25 @ West Caldwell	31
02/07/25 vs Newton-Conover	16
02/04/25 vs Maiden	22
01/31/25 vs Lincolnton	21
+ 4 more games

Landon Vaughan continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, going 11-for-16 to rack up 27 points in addition to eight rebounds and six blocks. The game was his ninth in a row with at least 16 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Easton Ledford, who posted ten points along with five boards and three steals.

Meanwhile, East Burke hadn't done well against West Caldwell recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. East Burke secured a 60-56 W over West Caldwell. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Cavaliers.

Bandys better keep an eye on Dautry Ragle. He was instrumental in East Burke's win, almost dropping a double-double with 28 points and nine rebounds. Those 28 points gave Ragle a new career-high. Barger Shook was another key player, going 5-for-9 en route to 12 points and eight boards.

East Burke's win bumped their record up to 11-13. As for Bandys, they pushed their record up to 17-6 with the victory, which was their fourth straight on the road.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Bandys has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 36 rebounds per game. However, it's not like East Burke struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Bandys beat East Burke 77-65 when the teams last played back in January. Does Bandys have another victory up their sleeve, or will East Burke turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.