Basketball Recap: Javian White and Noah Vanbeurden Secure Win for St. Stephens

St. Stephens hadn't done well against Alexander Central recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Thursday. The St. Stephens Indians strolled past the Alexander Central Cougars with points to spare, taking the game 64-48. The Indians pushed the score to 56-36 by the end of the third, a deficit the Cougars cut but never quite recovered from.

Leading St. Stephens to victory were Noah Vanbeurden and Javian White. Vanbeurden went 6 of 9 from beyond the arc on his way to 26 points in addition to five boards and three steals, while White went 7 for 16 on his way to 19 points and six assists. The game was White's ninth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Maddox J Zablan, who posted five points and six assists.

They weren't the only one working in the assists department: St. Stephens was working as a unit and finished the game with 17 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

Despite the loss, Alexander Central still got an impressive performance from Jayon Connor, who dropped a double-double on 29 points and 17 boards. That was a full 60.4% of Alexander Central's points, marking the sixth time in a row he's put up more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaheim Redmond, who had three points and six assists.

The victory made it two in a row for St. Stephens and bumps their season record up to 3-3. As for Alexander Central, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 2-4.

St. Stephens wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next match, a 67-64 loss against South Caldwell on the 13th. Alexander Central and Newton-Conover will compete for holiday cheer at 5:30 p.m. on Monday. Alexander Central is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 55.5 points per game this season.