Preview: Central Cabarrus Vikings vs. East Rowan Mustangs
Central Cabarrus is 9-1 against East Rowan since December of 2016, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Central Cabarrus Vikings will be playing at home against the East Rowan Mustangs at 7:30 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Central Cabarrus has 48 straight victories, East Rowan has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
In what's become a running theme this season, Central Cabarrus gave their fans yet another huge win on Wednesday. They took their match on the road with ease, bagging a 87-41 victory over Lake Norman Charter. 87 seems to be a good number for Central Cabarrus as the squad scooped up a win with the same number of points in their previous game.
It was another big night for Desmond Kent Jr., who dropped a double-double on 23 points and 14 rebounds. He is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as he's now pulled down eight or more in the last three games he's played. Chase Daniel was another key contributor, scoring 11 points along with eight assists and eight rebounds.
East Rowan suffered their biggest defeat since December 1, 2023 on Tuesday. They took a serious blow against Concord, falling 99-54. East Rowan was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 53-32.
The losing side was boosted by Drake Jones, who scored 18 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jonathan Wembolua, who scored nine points.
Central Cabarrus pushed their record up to 16-0 with that win, which was their 14th straight on the road dating back to last season. They've been dominating during the games in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 40.57 points. As for East Rowan, their loss dropped their record down to 2-12.
Friday's match is shaping up to be a scrappy matchup: Central Cabarrus have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 31.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like East Rowan struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 20.7 rebounds per game. Given Central Cabarrus' sizeable advantage in that area, East Rowan will need to find a way to close that gap.
Everything came up roses for Central Cabarrus against East Rowan in their previous meeting back in December of 2023 as the squad secured a 104-37 win. With Central Cabarrus ahead 64-17 at the half, the match was all but over already.
