Basketball Game Preview: Havelock Rams vs. South Central Falcons

Havelock hasn't had much luck against South Central recently, but that could start to change on Wednesday. The Havelock Rams will welcome the South Central Falcons at 6:30 p.m. Both are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Havelock is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They were the clear victor by a 49-24 margin over Northside - Jacksonville two weeks ago. The score at the end of the third wound up being the final score as the Rams just coasted through the last quarter.

Havelock's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Kaitlynn Howell, who went 6 for 13 on her way to 13 points and eight rebounds. Howell is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last three games she's played. Another player making a difference was Lanai Brantley, who posted 12 points and five boards.

Meanwhile, South Central had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 45.3 points) and they went ahead and made it four on Tuesday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Rampants 69-27. Given the Falcons' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 64th, while the Rampants are ranked 369th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

South Central's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-4. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 74.4 points per game. As for Havelock, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 4-8.

Havelock took a serious blow against South Central in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, falling 65-25. That matchup was all but decided by halftime, at which point Havelock was down 42-15.