Basketball Game Preview: E.E. Smith Golden Bulls vs. Pinecrest Patriots

The E.E. Smith Golden Bulls are taking a road trip to challenge the Pinecrest Patriots at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

On Friday, E.E. Smith beat Terry Sanford 60-53. The win continues a trend for the Golden Bulls in their matchups with the Bulldogs: they've now won eight in a row.

Nick Smith

Steals

12/05/25 @ Terry Sanford	5
11/29/25 vs Northwood	4
11/25/25 @ Hillside	5
11/24/25 @ Cape Fear	8
02/28/25 @ First Flight	5
+ 7 more games

E.E. Smith got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Nick Smith out in front who shot 54% from the field to rack up 17 points and five steals. Smith has been hot for a while, having posted two or more steals the last 12 times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Jackson Williams, who went 5-for-11 en route to 16 points along with eight steals and six assists.

Meanwhile, Pinecrest suffered their closest loss since February 4th on Tuesday. They fell just short of South View by a score of 75-72. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game last Tuesday (67), the Patriots still had to take the loss.

E.E. Smith's win bumped their record up to 3-1. As for Pinecrest, their defeat was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 1-3.