The East Lincoln Mustangs waltzed into their game on Friday with two straight wins but they left with three. They enjoyed a cozy 69-53 victory over St. Stephens. That result was just more of the same for these two, as East Lincoln also won the last time the pair played back in January.
East Lincoln's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Christian Atkins, who scored 12 points along with five assists and five rebounds. Atkins has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last three times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Jackson Fannon, who scored 18 points along with eight rebounds.
St. Stephens' loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Jonah Long, who scored 23 points along with five rebounds and two steals, and Noah VanBeurden who scored 14 points along with seven rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Long has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Javian White, who scored eight points.
East Lincoln's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 13-9. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 82.3 points per game. As for St. Stephens, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 11-11.
East Lincoln will be playing at home against North Iredell at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. East Lincoln knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past ten games -- so hopefully North Iredell likes a good challenge. As for St. Stephens, they will head out on the road to square off against Statesville at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Hopefully Statesville focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 14 on Friday.
