It's hard to turn regular season success into postseason wins, a fact Alexander Central can now relate to. They were just a bucket shy of victory on Tuesday and fell 72-71 to the Central Cabarrus Vikings. The contest was a 40-40 toss-up at halftime, but the Cougars couldn't quite close it out.

Noah VanBeurden
| 02/24/26 vs Central Cabarrus | 26 |
| 02/17/26 vs St. Stephens | 16 |
| 02/13/26 @ South Caldwell | 20 |
| 02/11/26 vs St. Stephens | 20 |
| 02/10/26 vs Freedom | 15 |
| + 2 more games |
Despite the loss, Alexander Central still got an impressive performance from Noah VanBeurden, who posted 26 points along with six assists and three steals. The matchup was VanBeurden's seventh in a row with at least 15 points. Another player making a difference was Jaheim Redmond, who put up 13 points.
Central Cabarrus' success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Parker Watkins led the charge by putting up 16 points. Watkins has been hot recently, having posted 16 or more points the last three times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Dexter Montague, who earned 15 points.
This is the second loss in a row for Alexander Central and nudges their season record down to 14-11. As for Central Cabarrus, with the victory, they broke their three-game losing streak and moved their record to 10-15.
Alexander Central does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Central Cabarrus, they are taking a road trip to challenge Watauga at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. The Vikings will need to watch out since the Pioneers have now posted at least 55 points in their last seven games.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps