The St. Stephens Indians suffered their biggest defeat since December 5, 2023 on Friday. They ended up on the wrong side of a rough 85-62 walloping at the hands of North Lincoln. St. Stephens has struggled against North Lincoln recently, as their game on Friday was their fifth consecutive lost matchup.
Despite the defeat, St. Stephens saw an underclassman step up: Noah VanBeurden scored 20 points along with six rebounds. Another player making a difference was Jonah Long, who scored 14 points along with five rebounds.
North Lincoln's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Ty Sanders led the charge by scoring 24 points along with six assists and two steals. Ben Heavner was another key contributor, scoring 20 points along with seven rebounds.
St. Stephens' loss was their fourth straight on the road, which bumped their record down to 7-6. As for North Lincoln, the victory makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 11-3.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. St. Stephens' road trip will continue as they head out to face East Lincoln at 7:30 p.m. on January 16th. As for North Lincoln, they will challenge Foard at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Foard 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 471st, while North Lincoln is ranked 51st).
