Basketball Game Preview: Havelock Rams vs. New Bern Bears

The Havelock Rams will square off against the New Bern Bears at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Havelock will be strutting in after a victory while New Bern will be coming in after a defeat.

Havelock is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. Everything went their way against Northside - Jacksonville on Friday as Havelock made off with a 49-24 win. The score at the end of the third wound up being the final score as the Rams just coasted through the last quarter.

Havelock's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Kaitlynn Howell, who went 6 for 13 en route to 13 points and eight boards. Howell is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last three games she's played. Lanai Brantley was another key player, putting up 12 points and five rebounds.

Havelock smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their offensive board total in four consecutive games.

Meanwhile, New Bern was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their fifth straight loss. They had to suffer through a 68-36 loss at the hands of D.H. Conley. While losing is never fun, the Bears can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 442nd, while the Vikings are ranked 172nd).

New Bern's defeat dropped their record down to 3-14. As for Havelock, their victory bumped their record up to 4-8.

Havelock barely slipped by New Bern when the teams last played back in December of 2024, winning 31-30. Will Havelock repeat their success, or does New Bern have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.