The Hertford County Bears and the Roanoke Rapids Yellowjackets will round out the year against one another at at 8:30 p.m. on Friday. Hertford County has been dominant on offense recently, having racked up an incredible 189 points over their last three games.
Having struggled with six defeats in a row dating back to last season, Hertford County turned things around against Pasquotank County last Thursday. They came out on top against the Panthers by a score of 67-60.
Rimiez Williams continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, almost dropping a double-double on 29 points and nine rebounds. That makes it six consecutive games in which he has scored at least a third of Hertford County's points. Another player making a difference was Shimere Garris, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and ten rebounds.
Hertford County smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Roanoke Rapids waltzed into their matchup on Thursday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They walked away with a 54-43 win over the Red Barons. Given the Yellowjackets' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 151st, while the Red Barons are ranked 395th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Hertford County better focus on containing Bobby Hawkins Jr. and Khamauri Wood as the pair were huge in Roanoke Rapids' win. Hawkins Jr. dropped a double-double on 12 points and ten rebounds, while Wood went 6 of 12 on his way to 15 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Trent Seldon, who posted four points and three steals.
Roanoke Rapids' victory bumped their record up to 6-1. As for Hertford County, their win (their first of the season) made their record 1-5.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Hertford County has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 23.2 boards per game. However, it's not like Roanoke Rapids struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31.3 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Hertford County strolled past Roanoke Rapids in their previous meeting back in February of 2017 by a score of 71-56. The rematch might be a little tougher for Hertford County since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
