Basketball Game Preview: North Mecklenburg Vikings vs. New Hanover Wildcats

The North Mecklenburg Vikings will face off against the New Hanover Wildcats at 2:35 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with North Mecklenburg sitting on five straight wins and New Hanover on 26.

North Mecklenburg is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They walked away with a 64-56 victory over Chambers.

Meanwhile, New Hanover faced Sanderson in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Wednesday. New Hanover simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Sanderson 83-55. The Wildcats have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 21 games by 20 points or more this season.

North Mecklenburg better keep an eye on Kellum Brown. He was instrumental in New Hanover's win, shooting 68% from the field on his way to 29 points and seven rebounds. Brown continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Zeus Batts, who went 5-for-11 en route to 12 points along with six assists and six boards.

New Hanover was working as a unit and finished the game with 23 assists. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their assist total in three consecutive matches.

New Hanover pushed their record up to 30-2 with the win, which was their 15th straight at home. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 27.2 points. As for North Mecklenburg, their victory bumped their record up to 29-3.

North Mecklenburg beat New Hanover 57-47 in their previous matchup back in March of 2024. Will North Mecklenburg repeat their success, or does New Hanover have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.