Basketball Game Preview: Northland Vikings vs. Africentric Early College Nubians

Northland is on a seven-game streak of home wins, while Africentric Early College is on a nine-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Northland Vikings will welcome the Africentric Early College Nubians at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Last Friday, Northland didn't have too much trouble with Linden-McKinley as they won 55-36. Given the Vikings' advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 143rd, while the Panthers are ranked 583rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Diante James

Steals

02/07/25 vs Linden-McKinley	4
02/04/25 @ Beechcroft	3
01/31/25 @ East	3
01/28/25 @ Centennial	4
01/24/25 vs Whetstone	4
+ 5 more games

Northland's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Diante James, who went 5 for 11 to rack up 22 points in addition to seven assists and four steals. James has been hot for a while, having posted two or more steals the last ten times he's played. Another player making a difference was Nehemiah McMorris, who went 9 of 19 on his way to 22 points and seven rebounds.

Meanwhile, Africentric Early College humbled Briggs with a 67-35 victory. The Nubians have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten matchups by 21 points or more this season.

Africentric Early College's win bumped their record up to 20-1. As for Northland, their victory bumped their record up to 16-3.

Northland came out on top in a nail-biter against Africentric Early College when the teams last played back in February of 2023, sneaking past 60-58. Does Northland have another victory up their sleeve, or will Africentric Early College turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.