East Duplin is 9-1 against North Duplin since December of 2014, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The East Duplin Panthers will head out on the road to face off against the North Duplin Rebels at 7:30 p.m. Hopefully East Duplin focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 24 on Monday.
East Duplin couldn't capitalize on their home-court advantage in their season opener. They were beaten by Jacksonville 68-35. East Duplin was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 39-13.
Despite their loss, East Duplin saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Zack Ball, who scored 4 points along with 5 rebounds and 4 steals, was perhaps the best of all. Mason Whaley was another key contributor, scoring 8 points.
Meanwhile, North Duplin pushed their score all the way to 70 on Tuesday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They took a 87-70 bruising from Lejeune. North Duplin found out winning isn't easy when you don't work as a unit and rack up 11 fewer assists than your opponent.
Despite the defeat, North Duplin got a solid performance out of Micah Lesesane, who scored 13 points along with 7 rebounds. Another player making a difference was Brady Byrd, who scored 11 points along with 6 rebounds.
East Duplin's defeat dropped their record down to 0-1. As for North Duplin, their defeat dropped their record down to an identical 0-1.
Everything came up roses for East Duplin against North Duplin when the teams last played back in December of 2019 as the squad secured a 91-52 victory. Does East Duplin have another victory up their sleeve, or will North Duplin turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
