The Goldsboro Cougars waltzed into their matchup on Wednesday with seven straight wins but they left with eight. They had just enough and edged Beddingfield out 69-67. Given Goldsboro's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 64th, while Beddingfield is ranked 222nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Goldsboro to victory, but perhaps none more so than Maurice Tyler, who scored 17 points along with three steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Amari Latham, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Beddingfield's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jhion Ashby, who scored 13 points. Another player making a difference was Jayonta Blanchard, who scored 12 points.
Goldsboro's win was their 23rd straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-2. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 79.9 points per game. As for Beddingfield, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 10-4.
Goldsboro will head out on the road to square off against Princeton at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Hopefully Princeton focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 25 last Friday. As for Beddingfield, they will be playing in front of their home fans against North Johnston at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in North Johnston's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last three contests.
