Basketball Game Preview: Vance County Vipers vs. South Granville Vikings

Vance County hasn't had much luck against South Granville recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Vance County Vipers will be home for the holidays to greet the South Granville Vikings at 7:30 p.m. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Vance County will head into Tuesday's game on the come-up: they were handed a 37-point loss in their previous outing, but that didn't affect their clutch gene on Tuesday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 46-44 victory over Louisburg. The win was some much needed relief for the Vipers as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak.

Vance County got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Tyshawn Alston out in front who went 7 of 14 on his way to 16 points and five rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Kayden Roberts, who went 5 of 6 on his way to 11 points and five rebounds.

Meanwhile, you're bound to get a positive result if you outscore your opponent every quarter, and that's exactly how it played out for South Granville on Friday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that they blew North Johnston out of the water with a 75-42 final score. The Vikings have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won three matchups by 33 points or more this season.

South Granville found their leader in sophomore KJ Terry, who went 9 of 18 on his way to 27 points along with eight boards and six assists. Terry is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last ten games he's played dating back to last season. DJ Hicks was another key player, putting up 14 points along with six steals and five boards.

Vance County's win bumped their record up to 2-4. As for South Granville, their victory bumped their record up to 4-1.

Vance County was taken down by South Granville 92-39 in their previous meeting back in February. Thankfully for Vance County, Pierce Pettit (who went 8 of 12 from beyond the arc on his way to 28 points) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.