Preview: East Columbus Gators vs. Gates County Red Barons
East Columbus is on a 13-game streak of home wins, while Gates County is on a seven-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The East Columbus Gators will take on the Gates County Red Barons at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
East Columbus had already proven themselves in the regular season, and didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They walked away with a 63-51 win over North Duplin on Friday. Given East Columbus' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 85th, while North Duplin is ranked 225th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
East Columbus found their leader in underclassman Malia J. Graham, who dropped a double-double on 33 points and 13 rebounds. That makes it three consecutive games in which J. Graham has scored at least a third of East Columbus' points. The team also got some help courtesy of Kaley Mitchell, who scored 14 points along with four steals.
Meanwhile, Gates County earned a 48-37 victory over Union on Friday.
Gates County found their leader in underclassman London Barber, who dropped a double-double on 24 points and 11 rebounds. Kyndall Banks was another key contributor, scoring nine points along with four steals.
East Columbus' win bumped their record up to 23-1. As for Gates County, they are on a roll lately: they've won 11 of their last 12 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 22-4 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: East Columbus have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 35.9 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Gates County struggles in that department as they've been averaging 39.6 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
