The Neuse Charter Cougars will take on the NCSSM: Durham Unicorns at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Neuse Charter knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past seven contests -- so hopefully NCSSM: Durham likes a good challenge.
It was a proper cat-fight when Neuse Charter faced off against Triangle Math & Science on Tuesday. The Cougars took a 69-59 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Tigers. The matchup marked the Cougars' lowest-scoring game so far this season.
Despite the defeat, Neuse Charter saw an underclassman step up: freshman Jeremiah Edwards posted 33 points along with eight boards and five steals. That was a full 55.9% of the Cougars' points, marking the third time in a row Edwards has put up more than a third of the team's points. Klayton Tew was another key player, putting up 11 points and eight steals.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for NCSSM: Durham, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. They walked away with a 71-59 victory over Research Triangle on Wednesday. The Unicorns haven't had any issues with the Raptors recently, as the game was their eighth consecutive win against them.
Neuse Charter better focus on containing Alex Caza and Mostafa Abdelbarr as the pair were huge in NCSSM: Durham's win. Caza dropped a double-double with 21 points and ten rebounds, while Abdelbarr had 20 points and three steals. Caza has also also been stellar as far as shooting accuracy is concerned: he's posted one of at least 45% every time he's hit the court this season. Another player making a difference was Jay Peng, who earned eight points and three steals.
NCSSM: Durham's victory bumped their record up to 8-1. As for Neuse Charter, they dropped their record down to 4-3 with the loss, which was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Neuse Charter has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 35.9 boards per game. However, it's not like NCSSM: Durham struggles in that department as they've been averaging 33.9 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Neuse Charter strolled past NCSSM: Durham in their previous matchup back in January of 2023 by a score of 72-58. Will the Cougars repeat their success, or do the Unicorns have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
