Preview: St. Stephens Indians vs. Statesville Greyhounds
St. Stephens is 6-0 against Statesville since January of 2022, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. The St. Stephens Indians will head out on the road to square off against the Statesville Greyhounds at 6:00 p.m. Given that both teams suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this contest.
Last Friday, things could have been worse for St. Stephens, but they could have been a whole lot better as they took a 72-53 loss to East Lincoln. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for St. Stephens in their matchups with East Lincoln: they've now lost eight in a row.
Despite their loss, St. Stephens saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Aubrey Gibbs, who scored 23 points along with seven rebounds, was perhaps the best of all. The team also got some help courtesy of Kennedy Blevins, who scored 16 points along with eight rebounds.
Meanwhile, Statesville's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Friday after their fourth straight loss. They were outmatched by North Iredell at home and fell 63-15. While losing is never fun, Statesville can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 503rd, while North Iredell is ranked 105th).
St. Stephens' defeat dropped their record down to 13-9. As for Statesville, they have not been sharp recently as the team has lost 11 of their last 12 matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 2-19 record this season.
Everything came up roses for St. Stephens against Statesville when the teams last played back in January as the squad secured a 62-27 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for St. Stephens since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
