Basketball Preview: Huss Huskies vs. Kings Mountain Mountaineers
The Huss Huskies will head out on the road to challenge the Kings Mountain Mountaineers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the pair posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Huss proved they can win big on Friday (they won by 24) but on Tuesday they proved they can win the close ones too. They skirted past Crest 62-60. The victory was all the more spectacular given Huss' disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 190th, while the Chargers are ranked 47th).
Huss' victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Zaiyir 'Zii' Phillips, who scored 13 points along with six rebounds and four steals. Phillips is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed four or more in the last five games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Satchelle Pettis, who scored 18 points along with two steals.
Ashbrook typically has all the answers at home, but on Tuesday Kings Mountain proved too difficult a challenge. They escaped with a win against the Greenwave by the margin of a single free throw, 72-71. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Kings Mountain.
Kings Mountain got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Caleb Nixon out in front who scored 22 points along with five rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Nixon has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Bradley Floyd, who scored 19 points along with six rebounds and two blocks.
Huss has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five games, which provided a nice bump to their 7-10 record this season. As for Kings Mountain, their win bumped their record up to 13-5.
Friday's contest is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Huss have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 39.8% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Kings Mountain struggles in that department as they've made 44.5% of their threes this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Huss ended up a good deal behind the Mountaineers in their previous matchup back in January, losing 66-52. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Kings Mountain's J'myun Huskey, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 11 rebounds. Now that Huss knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
