The Rocky Mount Gryphons will look to defend their home court on Friday against the Bunn Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. Hopefully Rocky Mount focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up eight on Wednesday.
Rocky Mount pushed their score all the way to 69, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell just short of Roanoke Rapids by a score of 71-69. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their last game on Tuesday (68), Rocky Mount still had to take the loss.
Rocky Mount's defeat came about despite a quality game from Anthony Jones, who dropped a double-double on 24 points and 16 rebounds. Jones has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last nine times he's played. Another player making a difference was Emanauel Battle, who scored 17 points along with eight rebounds.
Even though they lost, Rocky Mount were working as a unit and finished the game with 18 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Bunn posted their biggest victory yet this season on Wednesday. Everything went their way against Warren County as Bunn made off with a 48-28 win.
Bunn found their leader in underclassman D.J. Smith, who scored 18 points along with three steals. That's the first time this season that Smith scored 15 or more points. Jameir Strickland was another key contributor, scoring 11 points along with five rebounds.
This is the second loss in a row for Rocky Mount and nudges their season record down to 3-10. As for Bunn, they pushed their record up to 9-8 with that win, which was their third straight at home.
Friday's matchup is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Rocky Mount have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 37.3% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Bunn struggles in that department as they've made 37.8% of their threes per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Rocky Mount came up short against Bunn when the teams last played back in December of 2023, falling 62-53. Will Rocky Mount have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.
