Basketball Recap: Maiden's Luck Takes a Turn for the Worse on Friday

Blue Devils

Previous 5 Games

01/31/25 @ West Caldwell	62-64
01/28/25 vs West Lincoln	106-77
01/24/25 @ East Burke	95-82
01/21/25 @ Newton-Conover	79-53
01/17/25 @ Lincolnton	86-76

It was a good run, but Maiden unfortunately witnessed the end of their eight-game winning streak on Friday. They fell just short of the West Caldwell Warriors by a score of 64-62. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as the Blue Devils came into the match with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 94th, while the Warriors are ranked 248th).

Despite the loss, Maiden still got an impressive performance from Zion White, who posted 11 points and five rebounds. White is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Carson Bess, who earned six points and three steals.

Jay Maxwell was his usual excellent self, going 10 of 20 en route to 27 points and five steals for West Caldwell. Those 27 points gave Maxwell a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Jahzir Jones, who scored seven points and five boards.

Maiden's defeat was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 9-1 and their overall record down to 16-3. As for West Caldwell, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 12-8.

Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Maiden will head out to take on Bandys at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday. One thing working in Maiden's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points every time they've taken the court this season. As for West Caldwell, they will venture away from home to challenge Lincolnton at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Lincolnton will roll in looking for their sixth straight win, something West Caldwell surely won't give up without a fight.