Union is 1-9 against North Duplin since February of 2021 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Union Spartans will be playing in front of their home fans against the North Duplin Rebels at 6:00 p.m. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Union comes in on four and North Duplin on five.
In what's become a running theme this season, Union gave their fans yet another huge win on Tuesday. They put the hurt on Rosewood with a sharp 44-24 win. Given Union's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 223rd, while Rosewood is ranked 512th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Union's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Ariyona Spearman, who scored 16 points. That makes it three consecutive games in which Spearman has scored at least a third of Union's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Zadariyah Faison, who scored 13 points.
Meanwhile, North Duplin beat Lakewood 48-37 on Tuesday.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead North Duplin to victory, but perhaps none more so than Reece Outlaw, who scored 14 points. Addy Higginbotham was another key contributor, scoring 11 points.
Union is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 14-4 record this season. As for North Duplin, they pushed their record up to 13-6 with that win, which was their 17th straight at home dating back to last season.
Friday's game is shaping up to be a scrappy match: Union have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 23.6 rebounds per game. It's a different story for North Duplin, though, as they've been averaging only 0.8 rebounds per game. Given Union's sizable advantage in that area, North Duplin will need to find a way to close that gap.
Union suffered a grim 59-34 defeat to North Duplin in their previous matchup back in January. Will Union have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other basketball content.
