Seventy-First is 8-2 against Lumberton since January of 2021 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Seventy-First Falcons will welcome the Lumberton Pirates at 7:30 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Lumberton is hoping to do what Jack Britt couldn't on Thursday: put an end to Seventy-First's winning streak, which now stands at seven games. Seventy-First blew past Jack Britt 73-36. With the Falcons ahead 39-16 at the half, the contest was all but over already.
| 01/09/25 @ Jack Britt | 23 |
| 02/19/24 vs Douglas Byrd | 21 |
| 02/16/24 vs Douglas Byrd | 7 |
| 11/19/24 vs Fairmont | 6 |
| 11/30/24 vs Jordan | 3 |
Seventy-First found their leader in sophomore Javon Foster, who posted 23 points. The dominant performance gave Foster a new career-high in points. Another player making a difference was Julian Wilkerson, who had ten points in addition to five boards and three steals.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Lumberton, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. They breezed by Gray's Creek to the tune of 76-43 on Thursday. Given the Pirates' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 114th, while the Bears are ranked 477th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Seventy-First better focus on containing Amare Jones and Jaiden Shephard as the pair were huge in Lumberton's win. Jones almost dropped a double-double on 25 points and nine rebounds, while Shephard dropped a double-double on 17 points and 17 rebounds. Shephard is on a roll when it comes to boards, as he's now pulled down eight or more in the last 37 games he's played dating back to last season. The team also got some help courtesy of Lonnie Porter, who almost dropped a double-double on nine points and nine assists.
Lumberton smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in nine consecutive games.
Lumberton is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 11-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.2 points per game. As for Seventy-First, they pushed their record up to 8-1 with the victory, which was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season.
Seventy-First took their win against Lumberton in their previous meeting back in February of 2024 by a conclusive 79-57. Will Seventy-First repeat their success, or does Lumberton have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
