North Iredell is 7-2 against St. Stephens since December of 2021 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. The Raiders will be home for the holidays to greet the Indians at 7:00 p.m. North Iredell is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 61.8 points per game this season.
While North Iredell didn't have the best season last year (they finished 7-18), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They strolled past West Wilkes with points to spare on Tuesday, taking the game 56-42. Given the Raiders' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 174th, while the Blackhawks are ranked 556th) , the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Connor Ward
| 12/09/25 @ West Wilkes | 26 |
| 12/05/25 vs West Rowan | 19 |
| 12/04/25 vs Newton-Conover | 17 |
| 12/02/25 @ East Wilkes | 15 |
Connor Ward was his usual excellent self, going 9-for-12 on his way to 26 points and five boards. His evening made it four games in a row in which he has scored at least 15 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Syre Moon, who posted ten points in addition to five rebounds and three steals.
Meanwhile, St. Stephens fought the good fight in their overtime contest against Bandys on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell 62-52 to the Trojans. The loss continues a trend for the Indians in their meetings with the Trojans: they've now lost three in a row.
North Iredell will have to keep a close watch on Jachavis Sherrill and Chatham Donley, a pair of players who had a big impact on St. Stephens' prior game. Sherrill dropped a double-double with 14 points and ten boards, while Donley shot 50% from the field to rack up 14 points. Alan Wilson was another key player, putting up nine points and five rebounds.
North Iredell pushed their record up to 5-1 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. Those road victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 64.7 points over those games. As for St. Stephens, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-2.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: North Iredell has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 28.8 boards per game. However, it's not like St. Stephens struggles in that department as they've been averaging 25.6 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
North Iredell didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against St. Stephens when the teams last played back in January, but they still walked away with a 67-63 win. Do the Raiders have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Indians turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
