The Hickory Red Tornadoes will be home for the holidays to greet the East Lincoln Mustangs at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Hickory has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 464 points over their last six contests.
Last Friday, Hickory humbled Freedom with a 77-44 victory. The match was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 37-15.
Hickory had a senior duo take command as Jordan Lineberger scored 14 points and John Holbrook scored 14 points. The contest was Holbrook's third in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Jamien Little, who scored eight points.
Meanwhile, East Lincoln took their matchup at home on Friday with ease, bagging a 80-37 win over Hibriten. That 80-37 margin sets a new team best for East Lincoln this season.
East Lincoln's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Grant Lawless, who scored 15 points along with nine rebounds and three blocks. Lawless continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last four games he's played. Jackson Fannon was another key contributor, scoring 20 points along with seven rebounds.
Hickory pushed their record up to 6-0 with that victory, which was their third straight at home. They've been dominating during the matches in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 23.67 points. As for East Lincoln, their win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 3-4.
This contest is shaping up to be a blowout: Hickory hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having only averaged 76 points per game. It's a different story for East Lincoln, though, as they've been averaging only 67.3 points per game. The only thing between Hickory and another offensive beatdown is East Lincoln. Will they be able to keep them contained?
Hickory beat East Lincoln 69-62 in their previous matchup back in January. Will Hickory repeat their success, or does East Lincoln have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
