Preview: West Charlotte Lions vs. Mallard Creek Mavericks
West Charlotte is 10-0 against Mallard Creek since February of 2019, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The West Charlotte Lions will be playing at home against the Mallard Creek Mavericks at 7:15 p.m. West Charlotte is coming into the match on a six-game losing streak.
West Charlotte suffered their biggest loss yet this season on Saturday. They were the victim of a rough 74-52 defeat at the hands of Kings Mountain. While losing is never fun, West Charlotte can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 214th, while Kings Mountain is ranked 67th).
The losing side was boosted by Damani Day, who scored 19 points. His trending in the right direction, as he's improved his point production for three games straight. Bamara Kone was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with six rebounds and two blocks.
Meanwhile, Mallard Creek pushed their score all the way to 75 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They took a hard 92-75 fall against Chambers. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Mallard Creek in their matchups with Chambers: they've now lost nine in a row.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Rassell Young, who scored 20 points. As a matter of fact, that's the most points he has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Langston Boyd, who scored 17 points along with eight rebounds.
West Charlotte has traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost eight of their last ten games, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-10 record this season. As for Mallard Creek, their loss dropped their record down to 5-11.
Friday's match will pit two of the most dominant guards against one another: Day and Boyd. Day has been dynamite this season: he has averaged 14.7 points, 1.2 steals, and 1.9 assists. For his part, Boyd has averaged 20.5 points and 1.2 steals.
West Charlotte came out on top in a nail-biter against Mallard Creek in their previous matchup back in December of 2023, sneaking past 85-82. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Boyd, who scored 24 points along with seven rebounds and five assists. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will West Charlotte still be able to contain him? There's only one way to find out.
