Basketball Game Preview: West Carteret Patriots vs. Croatan Cougars

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Previous Games

02/02/24 - Away	58-89 L
01/24/24 - Home	73-69 W
02/03/23 - Home	80-47 W
01/06/23 - Away	83-37 W
02/03/22 - Home	78-44 W
+ 5 more games

West Carteret is 9-1 against Croatan since December of 2018 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The West Carteret Patriots will host the Croatan Cougars at 5:30 p.m.

West Carteret is headed into the contest having just suffered their biggest loss since January 8th on Tuesday. They came up short against Swansboro, falling 64-44. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Patriots' biggest loss of the season was also their lowest-scoring.

Meanwhile, Croatan waltzed into their matchup on Tuesday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They were the clear victor by an 82-58 margin over the Wildcats. The Cougars have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight games by 24 points or more this season.

Croatan's win came from a few key players West Carteret will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Kannon McBride, who went 10 for 21 en route to 26 points in addition to six boards and four steals. The contest was his third in a row with at least 16 points. Another player making a difference was Trey Jones, who dropped a double-double with 24 points and ten rebounds.

Croatan smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in five consecutive matches.

Croatan's win bumped their record up to 15-5. As for West Carteret, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 11-7.

West Carteret was dealt a bruising 89-58 defeat at the hands of Croatan in their previous matchup back in February of 2024. Will West Carteret have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other basketball content.