Preview: Northwood Chargers vs. Jordan-Matthews Jets
Northwood is 10-0 against Jordan-Matthews since November of 2017, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Northwood Chargers will be playing in front of their home fans against the Jordan-Matthews Jets at 7:30 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Northwood stacked an 11th blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Tuesday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Southeast Alamance 74-36 on the road. Given Northwood's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 56th, while Southeast Alamance is ranked 358th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Northwood to victory, but perhaps none more so than Drake Powell, who scored 16 points along with nine assists and six rebounds. Another player making a difference was Chad Graves, who scored 14 points along with eight rebounds and two steals.
Meanwhile, Jordan-Matthews scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Wednesday. They managed a 74-70 victory over Graham. With that victory, Jordan-Matthews brought their scoring average up to 51.8 points per game.
It was another big night for Brennen Oldham, who scored 26 points along with nine rebounds and five assists. That makes it three consecutive games in which he has scored at least a third of Jordan-Matthews' points. Kelton Fuquay was another key contributor, scoring 15 points along with six rebounds and three steals.
Northwood pushed their record up to 14-3 with that win, which was their 14th straight on the road. They've been dominating during the matches in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 35.14 points. As for Jordan-Matthews, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 7-7 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Northwood have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 31.1 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Jordan-Matthews struggles in that department as they've been averaging 26.7 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything came up roses for Northwood against Jordan-Matthews in their previous matchup back in December of 2023 as the squad secured a 79-19 victory. With Northwood ahead 39-13 at the half, the contest was all but over already.
