Cambridge City Lincoln is 0-10 against Northeastern since January of 2018 but things could change on Thursday. The Cambridge City Lincoln Golden Eagles will host the Northeastern Knights 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.
Last Friday, Cambridge City Lincoln sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 63-61 victory over Union City. Given the Golden Eagles' advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 189th, while the Indians are ranked 406th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Cambridge City Lincoln's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Noah Patterson, who went 6 of 10 en route to 17 points and three steals. Dustin Lunsford was another key player, putting up 16 points.
Meanwhile, everything went Northeastern's way against Franklin County on Saturday as Northeastern made off with a 66-45 victory. The Knights have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight games by 21 points or more this season.
Northeastern's win came from a few key players Cambridge City Lincoln will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Tre Vanlandingham, who made all 8 shots he took to post 18 points. Another player making a difference was Sam White, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 20 rebounds.
Northeastern's win bumped their record up to 16-1. As for Cambridge City Lincoln, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 9-3.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Cambridge City Lincoln has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 29.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Northeastern struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.4 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Cambridge City Lincoln was dealt a bruising 77-48 loss at the hands of Northeastern when the teams last played on January 9th. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Northeastern's Noah Payne, who went 8 for 15 on his way to 21 points in addition to five assists and three steals. Now that Cambridge City Lincoln knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
