Hickory is 8-0 against North Lincoln since December of 2021, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Hickory Red Tornadoes will look to defend their home court against the North Lincoln Knights at 7:30 p.m. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Hickory comes in on 26 and North Lincoln on six.
Last Wednesday, Hickory strolled past East Lincoln with points to spare, taking the game 67-49. Given Hickory's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 25th, while East Lincoln is ranked 187th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Hickory's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but John Holbrook led the charge by scoring 18 points. Holbrook is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 16 or more in the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Jordan Lineberger, who scored 14 points.
Meanwhile, even though Statesville scored an imposing 76 points on Thursday, North Lincoln still came out on top. North Lincoln walked away with an 83-76 victory over Statesville.
North Lincoln relied on the efforts of Ty Sanders, who scored 29 points, and Kellen Karr, who shot 4-for-6 from downtown and dropped a triple-double on 23 points, 15 rebounds, and ten assists. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Sanders has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Ben Heavner, who scored 12 points along with five rebounds.
Hickory pushed their record up to 26-0 with that win, which was their 12th straight at home. They've been dominating during the contests in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 30.2 points. As for North Lincoln, their win bumped their record up to 21-5.
Everything came up roses for Hickory against North Lincoln when the teams last played back in January as the team secured a 88-58 win. Will Hickory repeat their success, or does North Lincoln have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
