The Freedom Patriots will face off against the Alexander Central Cougars at 8:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Freedom is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering Watauga just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Wednesday. They fell 77-70 to the Pioneers. While the Patriots didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Pioneers 18-14 in the first quarter.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Alexander Central duked it out withHibriten on Tuesday. Alexander Central strolled past Hibriten with points to spare, taking the game 62-44. Given the Cougars' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 265th, while the Panthers are ranked 571st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Freedom better keep an eye on Jayon Connor. He was instrumental in Alexander Central's win, dropping a double-double on 33 points and 12 boards. That makes it eight consecutive games in which Connor has scored at least a third of Alexander Central's points. Jaheim Redmond was another key player, putting up nine points along with eight assists and five rebounds.
Alexander Central smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in three consecutive contests.
Alexander Central has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five games, which provided a massive bump to their 9-8 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.2 points per game. As for Freedom, their defeat was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 3-1 and their overall record down to 13-3.
Freedom came up short against Alexander Central in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, falling 53-45. Can Freedom avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
