Basketball Game Preview: Cape Fear Academy Hurricanes vs. Croatan Cougars

Two dominant guards in Isaiah Gibson and Trey Jones are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Cape Fear Academy Hurricanes and the Croatan Cougars will face off at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday without much rest having both just played.

Cape Fear Academy saw some tournament action on Friday. They received a blow as they fell 66-48 to Laney. The Hurricanes have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Meanwhile, Croatan entered their tilt with East Bladen on Friday with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They wrapped up 2024 with an 80-63 victory over the Eagles. Given the Cougars' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 126th, while the Eagles are ranked 392nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Cape Fear Academy better keep an eye on Jones. He was instrumental in Croatan's win, going 10 for 17 on his way to 28 points and six assists. Jones' afternoon made it nine games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Kannon McBride was another key player, going 8 of 16 on his way to 19 points along with five rebounds and three steals.

Croatan smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in four consecutive matches.

Croatan's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-2. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 82.7 points per game. As for Cape Fear Academy, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-7.