Basketball Game Preview: Alexander Central Cougars vs. Hibriten Panthers

Alexander Central is 8-0 against Hibriten since January of 2022 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. A feisty cat fight is on tap when the Alexander Central Cougars duke it out with the Hibriten Panthers at 8:00 p.m. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.

Alexander Central is probably headed into the game with a chip on their shoulder considering South Caldwell just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Friday. They took a 61-53 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Spartans.

Despite the defeat, Alexander Central got top-tier performance from Jayon Connor, who almost dropped a double-double on 31 points and nine boards. Connor's evening made it seven games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Koa Mikeal, who posted eight points.

Meanwhile, Hibriten was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They came up short against Watauga, falling 84-58. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 549th, while the Pioneers are ranked 159th).

Hibriten's record now sits at 3-13. As for Alexander Central, their defeat was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 2-1 and their overall record down to 8-8.

Alexander Central was able to grind out a solid win over Hibriten when the teams last played back in February of 2024, winning 53-41. Will Alexander Central repeat their success, or does Hibriten have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.