Preview: Bandys Trojans vs. West Caldwell Warriors
Bandys has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will face off against the West Caldwell Warriors at 8:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Last Tuesday, Bandys was just a bucket shy of victory and fell 56-55 to Newton-Conover. Bandys has not had much luck with Newton-Conover recently, as the team's come up short the last three times they've met.
Despite the loss, Bandys had strong showings from Easton Ledford, who scored 15 points along with eight rebounds and three steals, and Landon Vaughan, who scored 17 points along with five rebounds. Vaughan is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 15 or more in the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Micah Slaughter, who scored ten points along with five assists.
West Caldwell posted their biggest victory since December 1, 2023 on Tuesday. They really took it to West Lincoln for the full four quarters, racking up a 74-46 win on the road. Given West Caldwell's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 93rd, while West Lincoln is ranked 500th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Bandys' loss dropped their record down to 11-4. As for West Caldwell, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-3 record this season.
Bandys was dealt a bruising 96-67 loss at the hands of West Caldwell in their previous matchup back in February of 2023. Can Bandys avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
