The East Columbus Gators will head out on the road to take on the Heide Trask Titans at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Hopefully East Columbus focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 23 on Wednesday.
Even though East Columbus has not done well against Whiteville recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way. East Columbus managed a 48-42 victory over Whiteville. Given East Columbus' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 73rd, while Whiteville is ranked 406th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
East Columbus found their leader in underclassman Malia J. Graham, who scored 13 points along with six rebounds and three steals. Another player making a difference was Chynna Patrick, who scored 12 points along with five rebounds.
Meanwhile, Heide Trask's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Wednesday after their third straight loss. Their tough 56-30 loss to East Bladen might stick with them for a while. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest loss Heide Trask has suffered against East Bladen since February 2, 2016.
The win makes it two in a row for East Columbus and bumps their season record up to 10-1. As for Heide Trask, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-12.
Everything came up roses for East Columbus against Heide Trask when the teams last played back in January of 2023 as the squad secured a 61-15 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for East Columbus since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
