Basketball Game Preview: Pine Forest Eagles vs. Murphy Panthers

The Pine Forest Eagles will challenge the Murphy Panthers at 1:00 p.m. on Monday. Pine Forest is coming into the game on a three-game losing streak.

Last Friday, Pine Forest came up short against Booker T. Washington and fell 44-34. While losing is never fun, the Eagles can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 331st, while the Wildcats are ranked 142nd).

The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Marco Stallworth, who almost dropped a double-double on nine points and nine rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Marlin Williams, who posted eight points and eight boards.

Even though they lost, Pine Forest smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in four consecutive contests.

Murphy has been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They were a single point away from ending the streak, but they lost a 51-50 heartbreaker at the hands of Saraland.

Pine Forest's record now sits at 8-10. As for Murphy, their record now sits at 16-7.