The Northern Nash Knights will head out on the road to take on the Rocky Mount Gryphons at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Northern Nash is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last three games.
Northern Nash posted their biggest victory yet this season on Friday. They really took it to Nash Central for the full four quarters, racking up a 76-47 win on the road. Given Northern Nash's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 169th, while Nash Central is ranked 584th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Northern Nash's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Randall King, who scored 19 points along with six assists, and Izeal Mallory II, who scored 25 points along with three steals. Mallory II has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last four times he's played. Another player making a difference was Kamren Freeman, who scored eight points along with seven rebounds.
Rocky Mount has not had quite the year their fans were hoping for to this point, but back-to-back wins may be a sign of good things to come. In a tight matchup that could have gone either way, they made off with a 50-49 win over Franklinton.
It was another big night for Anthony Jones, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 12 rebounds. He hasn't dropped below eight rebounds for seven straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Gerald Davis, who scored seven points along with two steals.
Northern Nash's victory ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 9-7. As for Rocky Mount, their victory ended a four-game drought at home and bumped them up to 3-8.
Keep an eye on the arc in Tuesday's contest: Northern Nash have made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having only averaged 5.6 threes per game. It's a different story for Rocky Mount, though, as they've been averaging only 3.5 threes per game. Given Northern Nash's sizeable advantage in that area, Rocky Mount will need to find a way to close that gap.
Northern Nash couldn't quite finish off Rocky Mount when the teams last played back in February of 2023 and fell 72-69. Can Northern Nash avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
