Preview: South Stanly Rowdy Rebel Bulls vs. Union Academy Cardinals
South Stanly is 6-1 against Union Academy since December of 2014, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The South Stanly Rowdy Rebel Bulls' road trip will continue as they head out to face the Union Academy Cardinals at 6:00 p.m. on January 19th. South Stanly comes in on a streak of failing to score more than 23 points in their last four games, a trend the team is of course eager to reverse.
South Stanly suffered their biggest loss yet this season on Wednesday. They had to suffer through a rough 58-2 loss at the hands of North Rowan. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest points South Stanly has scored all season.
Meanwhile, Union Academy can now show off nine landslide victories after their most recent matchup on Tuesday. They were the clear victor by a 70-45 margin over Charlotte Latin. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest victory Union Academy has posted since November 29, 2023.
Union Academy's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Paisley Boatright, who scored 22 points along with seven rebounds, and Ranon Suttle, who scored 22 points along with eight rebounds and three steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Boatright has scored all season. Marianna Shine was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with six rebounds.
South Stanly's defeat was their sixth straight on the road, which bumped their record down to 1-11. That rough patch could be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they only averaged 24.2 points per game. As for Union Academy, they are on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 10-2 record this season.
South Stanly strolled past Union Academy when the teams last played back in February of 2017 by a score of 63-46. Will South Stanly repeat their success, or does Union Academy have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
