Trinity of Durham and Chapel Hill comes up short despite Kyren Smith's dominant performance

By Team Reports Dec 19, 2023, 6:29pm

Recap: Trinity of Durham and Chapel Hill Lion vs. Hillside Hornets

The Trinity of Durham and Chapel Hill Lion struggled with assists on Tuesday (the Hillside Hornets had 20 more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Trinity of Durham and Chapel Hill was dealt a 82-52 loss at the hands of Hillside. While losing is never fun, Trinity of Durham and Chapel Hill can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 405th, while Hillside is ranked 198th).

When it comes to explaining why Trinity of Durham and Chapel Hill lost, one person who can't be blamed is Kyren Smith. Despite the final result, he dropped a double-double on 33 points and ten rebounds. Smith scored a full 63.5% of Trinity of Durham and Chapel Hill's points, the third time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Zachary Powery, who scored seven points along with seven rebounds.

Hillside got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Sulaiman Shackelford out in front who scored 13 points along with eight rebounds and four steals. Those four steals set a new season-high mark for him. Jayde Braswell was another key contributor, scoring 11 points along with six rebounds and four steals.

Trinity of Durham and Chapel Hill now has a losing record at 3-4. As for Hillside, their victory was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 3-2.

Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Trinity of Durham and Chapel Hill will take on Durham Academy at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Hopefully Durham Academy focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 13 on Wednesday. As for Hillside, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Cresset Christian Academy at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. Cresset Christian Academy comes in still looking for their first win of the season.