After a string of four wins, the St. Stephens Indians's good fortune finally ran out on Friday. They ended up on the wrong side of a tough 81-61 walloping at the hands of Hickory. While losing is never fun, St. Stephens can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 253rd, while Hickory is ranked 18th).
St. Stephens' defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Javian White, who scored 15 points along with six assists and five rebounds. White has been hot recently, having posted 15 or more points the last eight times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Noah VanBeurden, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and ten rebounds.
Hickory's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Jay Powell, who scored 20 points. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Powell has scored all season. Izaiah Littlejohn was another key contributor, scoring 17 points.
St. Stephens' loss dropped their record down to 11-9. As for Hickory, the win for they keeps them at an undefeated 20-0.
St. Stephens will be playing in front of their home fans against North Lincoln at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. North Lincoln knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past 19 matches -- so hopefully St. Stephens likes a good challenge. As for Hickory, they will head out on the road to take on North Iredell at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Hickory is coming into the contest with 18 straight wins on the road, so North Iredell is out to stop a squad with plenty of momentum.
