Preview: Foard Tigers vs. Hickory Red Tornadoes
Foard is 0-10 against Hickory since January of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Foard Tigers will be playing at home against the Hickory Red Tornadoes at 8:00 p.m. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Foard has struggled recently with three defeats in a row, while Hickory will arrive with 14 straight victories.
Foard pushed their score all the way to 55 on Tuesday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They had to suffer through a rough 87-55 loss at the hands of North Lincoln. Foard has struggled against North Lincoln recently, as their contest on Tuesday was their sixth consecutive lost matchup.
The losing side was boosted by Nicholas Jeffries, who scored ten points along with nine rebounds and three steals. That's the first time this season that he grabbed two or more steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Graham Orndoff, who scored 13 points.
Meanwhile, even though St. Stephens scored an imposing 71 points on Wednesday, Hickory still came out on top. Hickory walked away with an 84-71 win over St. Stephens. Given Hickory's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 14th, while St. Stephens is ranked 279th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Hickory's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jamien Little led the charge by scoring 18 points. Little continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. John Holbrook was another key contributor, scoring 17 points.
Foard has traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost seven of their last eight matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-11 record this season. As for Hickory, their win was their 16th straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 14-0.
Foard took a serious blow against Hickory in their previous matchup back in February of 2023, falling 99-50. Can Foard avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
