It'll be Battle of the Birds when the East Mecklenburg Eagles challenge the Rocky River Ravens at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday... East Mecklenburg has been dominant on offense recently, having racked up an incredible 176 points over their last three matchups.
East Mecklenburg will bounce into Tuesday's game after beating Porter Ridge, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. East Mecklenburg came out on top against Porter Ridge by a score of 57-46 last Wednesday. Given the Eagles' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 123rd, while the Pirates are ranked 334th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
| 12/04/24 vs Porter Ridge | 6 |
| 12/28/23 vs Piedmont | 5 |
| 12/03/24 vs Sun Valley | 5 |
| 02/20/24 vs Providence | 4 |
| 12/12/23 vs Garinger | 4 |
Jordan Buzzard and Vance Johnson were among the main playmakers for East Mecklenburg as the former dropped a double-double on 11 points and 11 boards and the latter posted eight points along with six assists and three steals. That's the most assists Johnson has posted since back in November of 2023. James Mciver was another key player, going 5 of 8 on his way to 10 points.
They weren't the only one working in the assists department: East Mecklenburg was working as a unit and finished the game with 17 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Porter Ridge only posted 11 assists.
Meanwhile, Rocky River didn't have quite enough to beat North Mecklenburg on Wednesday and fell 49-46. The contest marked the Ravens' lowest-scoring matchup so far this season.
East Mecklenburg will need focus on slowing down BRIAN Carr, one of several Rocky River players who made an impact when they last played. He had ten points and five boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Ronnie Little, who put up ten points and six rebounds.
East Mecklenburg pushed their record up to 4-2 with the victory, which was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 58.3 points per game. As for Rocky River, they now have a losing record at 3-4.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: East Mecklenburg has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 22.8 boards per game. However, it's not like Rocky River struggles in that department as they've been averaging 27.7 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
East Mecklenburg came up short against Rocky River when the teams last played back in January, falling 66-58. Can East Mecklenburg avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
