Basketball Recap: East Bladen Comes Up Short

On Friday, the East Bladen Eagles lost to the Croatan Cougars at home by a 80-63 margin. While losing is never fun, the Eagles can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 392nd, while the Cougars are ranked 126th).

It was another big night for Trey Jones, who went 10 of 17 en route to 28 points and six assists for Croatan. Jones' afternoon made it nine games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Kannon McBride, who went 8 of 16 on his way to 19 points along with five rebounds and three steals.

East Bladen has traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-6 record this season. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 52.3 points per game. As for Croatan, their win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-2.

East Bladen and Franklin Academy will face off at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday without much rest having both just played. Franklin Academy knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past five games -- so hopefully East Bladen likes a good challenge. As for Croatan, they and Cape Fear Academy will face off at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday without much rest having both just played.