North Johnston hasn't had much luck against Goldsboro recently, but that could start to change on Friday. A feisty cat fight is on tap when the North Johnston Panthers face off against the Goldsboro Cougars at 7:30 p.m.
North Johnston lost 73-51 to Eastern Wayne on Wednesday. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 547th, while the Warriors are ranked 161st).
Despite the loss, North Johnston got top-tier performance from Kaleb Pone, who went 9 for 20 en route to 24 points and six rebounds. That was a full 47.1% of North Johnston's points, marking the ninth time in a row he's posted more than a third of the team's points. Jordin Fields was another key player, putting up eight points and six boards.
Meanwhile, Goldsboro had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 9 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Thursday. They blew past the Gators, posting an 83-40 win. That 43 point margin sets a new team best for the Cougars this season.
The victory got Goldsboro back to even at 10-10. As for North Johnston, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 5-13.
North Johnston strolled past Goldsboro in their previous matchup back in February of 2024 by a score of 80-64. The rematch might be a little tougher for North Johnston since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
