Basketball Game Preview: Bandys Trojans vs. Shelby Golden Lions

The Bandys Trojans will venture away from home to challenge the Shelby Golden Lions at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Bandys is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They strolled past Forest Hills with points to spare, taking the game 80-62. Given the Trojans' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 132nd, while the Yellow Jackets are ranked 339th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Landon Vaughan

Points

02/28/25 vs Forest Hills	25
02/25/25 vs Burns	19
02/18/25 @ Lincolnton	35
02/17/25 vs East Burke	17
02/14/25 @ Bunker Hill	27
+ 8 more games

Bandys can attribute much of their success to Landon Vaughan, who almost dropped a double-double with 25 points and nine rebounds, and Easton Ledford, who dropped a double-double with 17 points and 11 boards. Vaughan's big performance that evening made it 13 games in a row in which he has scored at least 16 points. Another player making a difference was Evan Robinson, who shot 56% from the field en route to 13 points and five rebounds.

Bandys smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in four consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Shelby entered their tilt with Owen on Friday with ten consecutive wins , and they'll enter their next game with 11. They claimed a resounding 95-65 victory over the Warhorses. The Golden Lions' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.

Shelby's win was their 12th straight at home, which pushed their record up to 20-7. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 71.0 points over those games. As for Bandys, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 20-7 record this season.

Bandys came up short against Shelby when the teams last played back in February of 2019, falling 79-66. Thankfully for Bandys, Deshuan Christopher (who went 7-for-14 to rack up 18 points and five boards) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.