Basketball Game Preview: North Lincoln Knights vs. St. Stephens Indians

North Lincoln has gone 7-1 against St. Stephens recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Tuesday. The North Lincoln Knights will look to defend their home court against the St. Stephens Indians at 7:30 p.m. North Lincoln knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past 18 matches -- so hopefully St. Stephens likes a good challenge.

Last Friday, everything came up roses for North Lincoln against North Iredell as the team secured a 75-42 victory. The Knights have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won nine games by 22 points or more this season.

North Lincoln's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Kellen Karr, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and ten rebounds, and Ben Heavner, who went 9 for 13 en route to 20 points. Karr has been hot for a while, having posted nine or more boards the last 20 times he's played. Another player making a difference was Ty Sanders, who posted ten points and six rebounds.

North Lincoln was working as a unit and finished the game with 26 assists. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now racked up at least 22 assists in three consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, St. Stephens came up short against Hickory on Friday and fell 66-55. While losing is never fun, the Indians can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 370th, while the Red Tornadoes are ranked 109th).

St. Stephens has traveled a rocky road recently having lost six of their last eight matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-13 record this season. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 67.6 points per game. As for North Lincoln, they pushed their record up to 14-5 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home.

North Lincoln beat St. Stephens 74-65 in their previous meeting back in January. Does North Lincoln have another victory up their sleeve, or will St. Stephens turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.