The Franklinton Red Rams will head out on the road to take on the Rocky Mount Gryphons at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Franklinton is headed into Tuesday's matchup looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their fourth straight game on Friday. They took a blow against Northern Nash, falling 89-55. While losing is never fun, the Red Rams can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 381st, while the Knights are ranked 75th).
Darius Slankard
| 02/07/25 @ Northern Nash | 15 |
| 02/03/25 vs Roanoke Rapids | 14 |
| 01/18/25 vs Oxford Prep | 12 |
| 01/17/25 vs Rocky Mount | 10 |
| 01/28/25 @ Nash Central | 9 |
Despite the defeat, Franklinton had strong showings from Darius Slankard, who went 5 for 11 to rack up 15 points and five boards, and Harrison Long, who posted 11 points. The dominant performance gave Slankard a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Chan Thomas, who earned eight points.
Meanwhile, Rocky Mount played a tough game on Monday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They came up short against Northern Nash, falling 84-61. The loss continues a trend for the Gryphons in their matchups with the Knights: they've now lost four in a row.
Franklinton will need to focus on slowing down Anthony Jones, one of several Rocky Mount players who made an impact when they last played. He dropped a double-double with 18 points and ten rebounds. The contest was Jones' fourth in a row with at least 15 points. Semaj Parker was another key player, putting up 14 points in addition to seven boards and four blocks.
Even though they lost, Rocky Mount smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds every time they've taken the court this season.
Rocky Mount's defeat was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 9-1 and their overall record down to 13-5. As for Franklinton, their loss dropped their record down to 9-13.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Franklinton has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 28.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Rocky Mount struggles in that department as they've been averaging 34.6 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Franklinton couldn't quite finish off Rocky Mount in their previous matchup back in January and fell 65-62. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Rocky Mount's Brelyn Moses, who almost dropped a double-double with 26 points and nine rebounds. Now that Franklinton knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
