There's no place like home for the Hoggard Vikings, who bounced back after a tough loss on the road on Friday. They came out on top against Cary by a score of 59-51 on Saturday. Given Hoggard's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 126th, while Cary is ranked 415th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Hoggard's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Hunter McGrath led the charge by going 6 for 8 from beyond the arc en route to 18 points and 0 assists. Josiah Gillespie was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with seven assists and four steals.
When it comes to explaining why Cary lost, one person who can't be blamed is Jonathan Peery. Despite the final result, he scored 14 points. Those 14 points set a new season-high mark for him. The team also got some help courtesy of Rayshone Gullatt, who scored 12 points along with five rebounds and four steals.
Hoggard pushed their record up to 8-4 with that victory, which was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.8 points per game. As for Cary, their loss dropped their record down to 3-9.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Hoggard and Laney will face off at 7:30 p.m. on January 5th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Hopefully Laney focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 13 on Saturday. Cary and Green Level will face off at 6:00 p.m. on January 5th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. One thing working in Green Level's favor is that they have posted big point totals every time they've taken the court this season.
