North Johnston was the 73-65 winner over Eastern Wayne when they last played one another back in February of 2024, but their luck changed this time around. The North Johnston Panthers lost 73-51 to the Eastern Wayne Warriors on Wednesday. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 547th, while the Warriors are ranked 161st).
Despite the loss, North Johnston still got an impressive performance from Kaleb Pone, who went 9 for 20 en route to 24 points and six boards. That was a full 47.1% of North Johnston's points, marking the ninth time in a row he's posted more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jordin Fields, who earned eight points and six rebounds.
Leading Eastern Wayne to victory were Izeiah Oates and Charlie Thomas. Oates shot 4-for-7 from long range and dropped a double-double on 18 points and ten assists, while Thomas dropped a double-double on 17 points and ten boards. Thomas has been hot for a while, having posted eight or more rebounds the last 17 times he's played. Another player making a difference was Levi Evans, who had eight points and 13 boards.
North Johnston has been struggling recently as they've lost seven of their last eight games, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-13 record this season. As for Eastern Wayne, the victory was the ninth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 17-4.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. A feisty cat fight is on tap when the North Johnston Panthers take on the Goldsboro Cougars at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. As for Eastern Wayne, they will face off against Beddingfield at 7:15 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Eastern Wayne's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last 12 matchups.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
