Hickory has enjoyed a four-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will challenge the North Lincoln Knights on Friday. One thing working in Hickory's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last 16 matchups.
It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Hickory had no problem doing just that on Tuesday. They blew past the Lions 89-64. Hickory has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 19 games by 20 points or more this season.
Among those leading the charge was John Holbrook, who scored 18 points. He hasn't dropped below 15 points for five straight games. Jamien Little was another key contributor, scoring 12 points.
Meanwhile, North Lincoln stacked an 11th blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Tuesday. They really took it to Franklin for the full four quarters, racking up a 78-35 win at home. The matchup was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 50-13.
North Lincoln's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Carson Engstrand, who scored 13 points along with six rebounds and three steals. Another player making a difference was Ty Sanders, who scored 13 points along with two steals.
Hickory's victory was their 14th straight at home, which pushed their record up to 28-0. They've been dominating during the matchups in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 29.1 points. As for North Lincoln, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 22-6 record this season.
Hickory took their victory against North Lincoln when the teams last played on Friday by a conclusive 89-68. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Sanders, who scored 19 points along with four steals. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Hickory still be able to contain Sanders? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
