The Cherryville Ironmen had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 13.7 points), and they went ahead and made it four on Monday. They strolled past North Gaston with points to spare, taking the game 63-48. Given Cherryville's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 249th, while North Gaston is ranked 613th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Cherryville's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Nate Bookout, who scored 12 points along with seven rebounds and five steals. Those seven rebounds set a new season-high mark for him. Andron Patterson was another key contributor, scoring 14 points along with nine rebounds and four steals.
North Gaston's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Markell Carothers, who scored 13 points along with five rebounds and four steals. The contest was Carothers' sixth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jalen Howard, who scored 15 points along with six rebounds.
Cherryville's victory bumped their record up to 6-1. As for North Gaston, they are on a five-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 1-5.
Cherryville won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against Lincolnton at 7:30 p.m. on December 12th. One thing working in Lincolnton's favor is that they have posted big point totals every time they've taken the court this season. As for North Gaston, they will head out on the road to face off against Huss at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Hopefully Huss focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 22 on Saturday.
