Basketball Recap: Richlands Comes Up Short

Richlands was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their sixth straight defeat. They were a single point away from ending the streak, but they lost a 57-56 heartbreaker at the hands of the West Carteret Patriots. While losing is never fun, the Wildcats can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 441st, while the Patriots are ranked 209th).

Jay Murray continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines for West Carteret, going 6 for 10 on his way to 14 points and eight boards. Murray is also on a roll when it comes to field goal percentage, as he's posted one of at least 45% in the last five games he's played. Another player making a difference was Jack Bell, who posted 13 points.

Richlands' loss dropped their record down to 4-15. As for West Carteret, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 11-5 record this season.

Looking ahead, a feisty cat fight will be fought when the Wildcats take on the Cougars at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday. One thing working in Croatan's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last 13 contests. As for West Carteret, they will take on Kinston at 5:30 p.m. on Monday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Kinston sitting on eight straight wins and West Carteret on three.