Basketball Recap: Kairell Evans' Big Game Can't Quite Lead Southern Wayne over Eastern Wayne

Southern Wayne lost against Eastern Wayne back in December of 2024 and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Friday. The Southern Wayne Saints opened the new year with a less-than-successful 86-79 defeat to the Eastern Wayne Warriors. While losing is never fun, the Saints can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 522nd, while the Warriors are ranked 198th).

Several Saints players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Kairell Evans, who almost dropped a double-double on 20 points and nine rebounds. Another player making a difference was Jaden Hardy, who went 10 of 13 on his way to 29 points.

Saints

Previous 2 Games

01/03/25 @ Eastern Wayne	79-86
12/23/24 vs James Kenan	51-66

Even though they lost, Southern Wayne smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in seven consecutive matchups.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Eastern Wayne to victory, but perhaps none more so than Izeiah Oates, who posted 17 points and seven rebounds. Oates is trending in the right direction considering he's improved his point production for four straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Michael Bailey, who put up 15 points and six rebounds.

Southern Wayne has traveled a rocky road recently having lost four of their last five games, which put a noticeable dent in their 2-7 record this season. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 70.2 points per game. As for Eastern Wayne, their record now sits at 9-4.

When Southern Wayne and Eastern Wayne next hit the court, they'll be up against teams who recently just can't seem to lose. Southern Wayne will try to stop Hunt's four-game winning streak when the meet at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Southern Wayne is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 58.6 points per game this season. Meanwhile, Eastern Wayne will try to stop West Craven's three-game winning streak when the meet at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday.