Basketball Game Preview: Union Pines Vikings vs. Southern Lee Cavaliers

The Union Pines Vikings will square off against the Southern Lee Cavaliers at 7:30 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.

On Friday, Union Pines needed a bit of extra time to put away Hoke County. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past the Bucks 73-70. The win almost wasn't to be: the Vikings were down 50-35 in the third quarter.

Jaylen Kyle

Points (Career)

02/07/25 @ Hoke County	29
01/09/25 vs Hoke County	26
11/19/24 @ Purnell Swett	25
02/27/24 @ Swansboro	24
02/06/24 @ Richmond	24

Jaylen Kyle was his usual excellent self, almost dropping a double-double with 29 points and nine rebounds. Those 29 points gave him a new career-high. Aiden Leonard was another key player, putting up 15 points and five boards.

Meanwhile, Southern Lee fought the good fight in their overtime contest against Richmond on Monday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell to the Raiders 74-68. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game on Tuesday (56), the Cavaliers still had to take the loss.

Union Pines' victory ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 13-9. As for Southern Lee, their defeat ended an eight-game streak of away wins and brought them to 18-2.

Union Pines didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against Southern Lee when the teams last played back in January, but they still walked away with a 77-71 win. Does Union Pines have another victory up their sleeve, or will Southern Lee turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.