Preview: Ridgecroft Rams vs. Rocky Mount Academy Eagles
Two dominant players in Antron Gray and Parker Eatmon are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Ridgecroft Rams will head out on the road to face off against the Rocky Mount Academy Eagles at 7:45 p.m. on Thursday. Ridgecroft is looking to tack on another W to their six-game streak on the road.
Winning is just a little bit easier when you outrebound your opponent 20 to ten on the offensive boards, a fact Ridgecroft proved on Monday. They snuck past Halifax Academy with a 52-47 victory. Given Ridgecroft's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 211th, while Halifax Academy is ranked 473rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Ridgecroft's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Gray, who scored 16 points along with six assists, and Baylor Edwards, who scored 18 points along with six steals. The contest was Gray's ninth in a row with at least ten points. Taylor Gunter was another key contributor, scoring four points along with eight rebounds.
Meanwhile, it may have taken overtime to finish the job, but Rocky Mount Academy ultimately got the result they hoped for on Tuesday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Pungo Christian Academy 52-50. The score was all tied up 26-26 at the break, but Rocky Mount Academy was the better team in the second half.
Rocky Mount Academy's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Eatmon led the charge by scoring 18 points along with eight rebounds. Those eight rebounds set a new season-high mark for Eatmon. The team also got some help courtesy of Hank Berry, who scored 13 points.
Ridgecroft's win bumped their record up to 7-2. As for Rocky Mount Academy, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 4-3 record this season.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the pair are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Ridgecroft hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having only averaged 59.8 points per game. It's a different story for Rocky Mount Academy, though, as they've been averaging only 58.7 points per game. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Ridgecroft might still be hurting after the 58-36 loss they got from Rocky Mount Academy when the teams last played back in November of 2019. Can Ridgecroft avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
