The Eastern Wayne Warriors will face off against the Princeton Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Eastern Wayne's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last 15 matches.
Eastern Wayne will bounce into Friday's contest after beating Goldsboro, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. Eastern Wayne took down Goldsboro 77-59 on Saturday.
Izeiah Oates
| 02/15/25 @ Goldsboro | 64% |
| 01/31/25 vs Princeton | 60% |
| 01/28/25 vs Goldsboro | 60% |
| 02/05/25 @ North Johnston | 43% |
| 12/03/24 @ South Johnston | 43% |
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Eastern Wayne to victory, but perhaps none more so than Izeiah Oates, who dropped a double-double with 17 points and ten assists. The dominant performance also gave Oates a new career-high in field goal percentage (64%). Levi Evans was another key player, dropping a double-double with 15 points and ten boards.
Eastern Wayne smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 14 offensive boards in 11 consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Princeton posted their closest victory since December 19, 2024 on Monday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past Spring Creek 65-63. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Bulldogs.
Princeton found their leader in freshman Teo McPhatter, who went 10-for-21 to rack up 32 points and four steals. The match was McPhatter's eighth in a row with at least 15 points. Another player making a difference was Evan Pate, who almost dropped a double-double with nine points and 16 rebounds.
Eastern Wayne pushed their record up to 20-4 with the victory, which was their eighth straight on the road. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 83.5 points over those games. As for Princeton, their win bumped their record up to 8-17.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Eastern Wayne has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 37.9 boards per game. However, it's not like Princeton struggles in that department as they've been averaging 34.2 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Everything came up roses for Eastern Wayne against Princeton when the teams last played back in January, as the team secured a 98-60 victory. Does Eastern Wayne have another victory up their sleeve, or will Princeton turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
