Preview: Middle Creek Mustangs vs. Cleveland Rams
The Middle Creek Mustangs just played last night, but they'll still head out to face the Cleveland Rams at 7:00 p.m. on December 28th. Middle Creek is coming into the match hot, having won their last seven games.
On Wednesday, Middle Creek didn't have too much trouble with South Johnston on the road as they won 51-36. Given Middle Creek's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 121st, while South Johnston is ranked 395th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Middle Creek can attribute much of their success to Alysia Pergerson, who scored 12 points along with eight steals, and Joi Pergerson, who scored 20 points. The match was Pergerson's ninth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Makiya Denee Mial, who scored six points along with seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, it was close, but on WednesdayCleveland capped 2023 with a 48-45 victory over Nash Central. The win made it back-to-back wins for Cleveland.
Cleveland found their leader in underclassman Angelia Dunn, who scored 21 points along with three steals. That makes it three consecutive games in which Dunn has scored at least 25% of Cleveland's points. Another player making a difference was Izzy Sholar, who scored eight points along with seven steals.
Middle Creek pushed their record up to 8-2 with that victory, which was their fourth straight on the road. As for Cleveland, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season.
Thursday's contest is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Middle Creek have been dynamite from deep this season, having only drained 32.4% of their threes per game. It's a different story for Cleveland, though, as they've only made 33.6% of their threes per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.
