Basketball Recap: Union Pines Takes Loss Despite Strong Performances from Talik Graham and Kingsley Donaldson + How To Watch

Union Pines had lost five straight on the road dating back to last season, but on Friday they dropped down to 1-5 to make it six. They fell 61-54 to the West Johnston Wildcats. While losing is never fun, the Vikings can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 441st, while the Wildcats are ranked 193rd).

Kingsley Donaldson

Rebounds

12/12/25 @ West Johnston	16
12/04/25 vs Montgomery Central	20
12/02/25 @ Westover	15
11/29/25 vs Fayetteville Christian	26
11/25/25 vs Jack Britt	9
+ 4 more games

Despite the loss, Union Pines had strong showings from Kingsley Donaldson, who dropped a double-double with 15 points and 16 boards, and Talik Graham, who posted ten points along with five rebounds and three steals. Donaldson has been hot for a while, having posted eight or more boards the last nine times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Joe Fuerch, who had 11 points.

As for West Johnston, the win (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 5-2. The victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.7 points over those games.

West Johnston got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Chase Gilmore out in front who shot 42% from the field on his way to 16 points in addition to five assists and four steals. That's the most assists Gilmore has posted since back in December of 2024. Another player making a difference was Julian Geddie, who went 6-for-11 en route to 14 points.

Union Pines will take on Pinecrest in a holiday battle at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The Vikings will need to watch out since the Patriots have now posted at least 55 points every time they've taken the court this season. As for West Johnston, they will head out to face off against Lee County at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The Wildcats will be up against the Yellow Jackets' rather soft defense (which has allowed 59.5 points per matchup), so fans could be in store for a big offensive performance.