North Moore has enjoyed the comforts of home their last three games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will face off against the Northwood Chargers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. North Moore will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps North Carolina Rankings (they are ranked 525th, while Northwood is ranked 51st).
North Moore pushed their score all the way to 57 on Tuesday, but even that wasn't enough to win. The match between North Moore and Chatham Central wasn't particularly close, with North Moore falling 71-57.
North Moore might have lost, but man, Colby Pennington was a machine: he shot 5-for-7 from long range and dropped a double-double on 29 points and 12 rebounds. Pennington hasn't dropped below eight rebounds for four straight games. Another player making a difference was Michael Copeland, who scored ten points along with five rebounds and five steals.
Meanwhile, Northwood unfortunately witnessed the end of their four-game winning streak on Saturday. They took a hard 63-47 fall against Myers Park. Northwood found out winning isn't easy when you don't work as a unit and rack up eight fewer assists than your opponent.
Drake Powell put forth a good effort for the losing side as he scored 23 points along with three blocks. He hasn't dropped below 15points for four straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Beau Harvey, who scored five points along with three steals.
Northwood struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only four offensive rebounds. That's the fewest offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
North Moore has not been sharp recently, as they've lost five of their last six games, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-7 record this season. As for Northwood, their loss ended a four-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 12-3.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: North Moore have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 33.7 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Northwood, though, as they've been averaging only 31.2 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
North Moore took a serious blow against Northwood when the teams last played back in December of 2023, falling 81-30. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Powell, who dropped a double-double on 29 points and 13 rebounds. Now that North Moore knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
