Preview: North Central Knights vs. Buford Yellowjackets
North Central and Buford are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2019, but not for long. The North Central Knights will head out on the road to challenge the Buford Yellowjackets at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Buford took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on North Central, who comes in off a win.
Last Tuesday, North Central strolled past Chesterfield with points to spare, taking the game 69-51.
North Central relied on the efforts of Dylan Smith, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and ten rebounds, and Ethan Diles, who scored 24 points along with eight rebounds and four steals. Diles is trending in the right direction, as he's improved his point production for three games straight. Another player making a difference was Jahleel Gaines, who scored ten points along with two steals.
Meanwhile, sadly, Buford is still looking for their first win of the season after 22 matchups. They had to suffer through a rough 76-49 loss at the hands of York Prep. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Buford in their matchups with York Prep: they've now lost six in a row.
Despite the loss, Buford got a solid performance out of Aaron Morris, who scored 23 points. That was a full 46.9% of Buford's points, marking the sixth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Blake Duncan was another key contributor, scoring six points along with six rebounds.
North Central's victory bumped their record up to 12-9. As for Buford, they dropped their record down to 0-22 with that defeat, which was their 12th straight at home dating back to last season.
Friday's game is shaping up to be a scrappy match: North Central haven't given up the ball easily this season, having only averaged 7.8 turnovers per game. It's a different story for Buford, though, as they've been averaging 23.4 turnovers per game. Given North Central's sizable advantage in that area, Buford will need to find a way to close that gap.
Everything came up roses for North Central against Buford when the teams last played back in January as the squad secured a 81-41 victory. With North Central ahead 45-20 at the half, the game was all but over already.
