Basketball Game Preview: Lake Norman Charter Knights vs. Northwest Cabarrus Trojans

Lake Norman Charter is 0-7 against Northwest Cabarrus since January of 2022 but things could change on Friday. The Lake Norman Charter Knights will head out on the road to face off against the Northwest Cabarrus Trojans at 6:00 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.

While Lake Norman Charter didn't have the best season last year (they finished 5-19), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They blew past Concord 68-40 on Friday. Given the Knights' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 194th, while the Spiders are ranked 481st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Reece Long and Abby Courtney were among the main playmakers for Lake Norman Charter as the former went 7 for 16 on her way to 29 points in addition to five rebounds and five steals and the latter posted 19 points along with seven steals and five boards. The dominant performance gave Long a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Sam Colantonio, who put up seven points and five rebounds.

Lake Norman Charter smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 12 offensive rebounds in five consecutive matches.

Meanwhile, Northwest Cabarrus came tearing into Friday's game with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 15.8 points) and they left with even more momentum. They breezed by the Raiders to the tune of 58-25. That looming 58-25 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Trojans yet this season.

Lake Norman Charter's victory ended a seven-game drought at home dating back to last season and bumped them up to 5-2. As for Northwest Cabarrus, they pushed their record up to 6-1 with the win, which was their third straight on the road.

Lake Norman Charter was taken down by Northwest Cabarrus 72-32 in their previous matchup back in February. Thankfully for Lake Norman Charter, Kennedy Hilsenroth (who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 18 rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.