Basketball Recap: Jaxon Dollar's Big Game Can't Quite Lead East Lincoln over West Iredell

East Lincoln was the 93-50 winner over West Iredell when they last played one another back in January, but their luck changed this time around. The East Lincoln Mustangs fell 69-56 to the West Iredell Warriors on Friday. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as the Mustangs came into the contest with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 125th, while the Warriors are ranked 349th).

East Lincoln's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jaxon Dollar, who almost dropped a double-double on 11 points and nine boards. Christian Atkins was another key player, putting up 12 points and three steals.

Even though they lost, East Lincoln was working as a unit and finished the game with 17 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as West Iredell only posted five assists.

Jordan Patterson was his usual excellent self, going 11 for 17 en route to 30 points along with six rebounds and four steals for West Iredell. The matchup was Patterson's 20th in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Jermaine Cornelius, who went 6 of 7 on his way to 13 points in addition to eight boards and three steals.

East Lincoln has traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 14-6 record this season. As for West Iredell, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 11-9.

East Lincoln will face off against Foard at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. East Lincoln is facing Foard at the right time seeing as Foard is stuck on a 13-game losing streak. As for West Iredell, they will challenge Statesville at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. West Iredell knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past seven contests -- so hopefully Statesville likes a good challenge.