The East Duplin Panthers will be playing in front of their home fans against the Wallace-Rose Hill Bulldogs at 8:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
East Duplin scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Tuesday. They strolled past South Lenoir with points to spare, taking the game 76-60. The victory was a breath of fresh air for East Duplin as it put an end to their five-game losing streak.
East Duplin relied on the efforts of Zachary Ball, who scored 14 points along with eight rebounds and six assists, and Calvin Harper, who went 7 for 9 from beyond the arc en route to 25 points and 0 assists. That's the first time this season that Ball pulled down eight or more rebounds. Another player making a difference was Luke Hughes, who scored eight points.
Meanwhile, after a string of three wins, Wallace-Rose Hill's good fortune finally ran out on Tuesday. They took a 71-66 hit to the loss column at the hands of Kinston. Wallace-Rose Hill has struggled against Kinston recently, as their contest on Tuesday was their sixth consecutive lost matchup.
Despite the loss, Wallace-Rose Hill saw an underclassman step up: Jamarae Lamb scored 22 points. Marlo Harris was another key contributor, scoring 13 points.
East Duplin's win ended a four-game drought at home and bumped them up to 2-11. As for Wallace-Rose Hill, their loss was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season, which bumped their record down to 5-6.
East Duplin strolled past Wallace-Rose Hill in their previous matchup back in February of 2023 by a score of 58-44. Will East Duplin repeat their success, or does Wallace-Rose Hill have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
