Basketball Game Preview: Croatan Cougars vs. Dixon Bulldogs

Croatan is 9-1 against Dixon since January of 2021 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Croatan Cougars will square off against the Dixon Bulldogs at 6:00 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Croatan has three straight victories, Dixon has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

Last Tuesday, Croatan beat Swansboro 52-43.

Neely McMannen continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, going 6 of 14 on her way to 20 points and five steals. Her evening made it four games in a row in which she has scored at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Hannah Buchan, who posted 13 points.

Meanwhile, Dixon lost to South Lenoir on the road by a 46-32 margin on Wednesday.

Dixon's loss dropped their record down to 3-10. As for Croatan, their win bumped their record up to 9-1.

Everything went Croatan's way against Dixon in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, as Croatan made off with a 48-26 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Croatan since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.