Basketball Game Preview: Southwest Onslow Stallions vs. North Lenoir Hawks

The Southwest Onslow Stallions will square off against the North Lenoir Hawks at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Southwest Onslow knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past seven matchups -- so hopefully North Lenoir likes a good challenge.

Last Saturday, Southwest Onslow earned a 68-57 victory over Eastern Randolph. Given the Stallions' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 34th, while the Wildcats are ranked 226th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Southwest Onslow's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Quaydon Holder, who posted 14 points in addition to seven rebounds and six steals. That's the most points Holder has posted since back in February of 2024. Malekhi Hutchinson was another key player, going 5 of 6 on his way to 17 points and seven boards.

Southwest Onslow was working as a unit and finished the game with 18 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Eastern Randolph only racked up nine assists.

Meanwhile, North Lenoir was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap last Friday as they fell 51-46 to Ayden - Grifton. The Hawks have struggled against the Chargers recently, as the game was their third consecutive lost matchup.

Southwest Onslow's victory bumped their record up to 13-2. As for North Lenoir, their loss dropped their record down to 4-12.

Everything went Southwest Onslow's way against North Lenoir in their previous meeting on January 7th, as Southwest Onslow made off with a 72-52 win. In that contest, Southwest Onslow amassed a halftime lead of 41-21, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Tuesday.