Basketball Game Preview: Alexander Central Cougars vs. Ashe County Huskies

The Alexander Central Cougars just played yesterday, but they'll still head out to face the Ashe County Huskies at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Alexander Central is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 53.2 points per game this season.

Alexander Central is headed into the game after thoroughly thrashing Hickory: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Alexander Central blew Hickory out of the water with a 63-34 final score. Given the Cougars' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 65th, while the Red Tornadoes are ranked 364th), the result on Thursday wasn't entirely unexpected.

Alexander Central's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Meredith Wike, who posted 18 points in addition to six rebounds and three steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Malayah Adams, who scored 11 points and seven assists.

Alexander Central was working as a unit and finished the game with 21 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in November of 2023.

Meanwhile, Ashe County was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their sixth straight defeat. They took a blow against Watauga, falling 86-48. The Huskies were down 65-39 at the end of the third quarter, and things only got worse from there.

The victory made it two in a row for Alexander Central and bumps their season record up to 12-7. As for Ashe County, their loss dropped their record down to 9-9.

Alexander Central strolled past Ashe County in their previous meeting on January 9th by a score of 67-49. The rematch might be a little tougher for Alexander Central since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.