Basketball Recap: Beckett Coon Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat Athens Drive

Fuquay - Varina hadn't done well against Athens Drive recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. The Fuquay - Varina Bengals came out on top against the Athens Drive Jaguars by a score of 61-51. For the Bengals, this counts as revenge for the 45-40 win the Jaguars walked away with the last time they faced one another back in December of 2023.

Fuquay - Varina's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Beckett Coon led the charge by going 10 of 18 on his way to 25 points. That makes it three consecutive games in which Coon has scored at least a third of Fuquay - Varina's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jayden Black, who posted 11 points in addition to six assists and five steals.

Several Jaguars players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Chay Smith, who went 6 for 14 on his way to 16 points and five rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Smith a new career-high in assists (four). Marcus Green was another key player, putting up five points along with nine rebounds and seven assists.

With the victory, Fuquay - Varina broke their three-game losing streak and moved their record to 2-6. As for Athens Drive, they now have a losing record at 3-4.

Fuquay - Varina wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next match, a 68-57 defeat against Green Level on the 9th. As for Athens Drive, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 55-46 loss against Cleveland on the 10th.