Buford and North Central are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2019, but not for long. The Buford Yellowjackets will look to defend their home court on Friday against the North Central Knights at 7:30 p.m. Buford comes in still looking for their first win of the season.
Last Tuesday, Buford took a serious blow against York Prep, falling 76-49. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Buford in their matchups with York Prep: they've now lost six in a row.
Despite the defeat, Buford got a solid performance out of Aaron Morris, who scored 23 points. That was a full 46.9% of Buford's points, marking the sixth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Blake Duncan, who scored six points along with six rebounds.
Meanwhile, North Central strolled past Chesterfield with points to spare on Tuesday, taking the game 69-51.
North Central relied on the efforts of Dylan Smith, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and ten rebounds, and Ethan Diles, who scored 24 points along with eight rebounds and four steals. Diles is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last 16 games he's played. Jahleel Gaines was another key contributor, scoring ten points along with two steals.
Buford's defeat was their 12th straight at home dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 0-22. As for North Central, their victory bumped their record up to 12-9.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Buford have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 27.9 rebounds per game. However, it's not like North Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging 21.4 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Buford was dealt a bruising 81-41 loss at the hands of North Central when the teams last played back in January. The match was all but decided by halftime, at which point Buford was down 45-20.
