Recap: Piedmont Panthers vs. Central Academy Cougars
The Piedmont Panthers had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 15.3 points), and they went ahead and made it five on Tuesday. They took their game on the road with ease, bagging a 76-25 win over Central Academy. Given Piedmont's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 240th, while Central Academy is ranked 633rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Piedmont's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Miles Leaks, who scored 20 points along with five rebounds. Leaks hasn't dropped below 15 points for seven straight games. Graham Blackman was another key contributor, scoring 14 points along with four steals.
Central Academy's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Michael Hoff, who scored 12 points along with two steals, and Emmett Lashbrook who scored five points. That was a full 48% of Central Academy's points, marking the fifth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points.
Central Academy struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only four offensive rebounds. They are winless (0-6) when they can't control their own glass like that.
Piedmont has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won nine of their last ten matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 13-8 record this season. As for Central Academy, they are on a nine-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 3-18.
Piedmont won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Mount Pleasant at 7:30 p.m. on February 7th. Piedmont has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 675 points over their last ten games. As for Central Academy, they will head out on the road to challenge Forest Hills at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Central Academy is coming into the game with 15 straight losses on the road, meaning Forest Hills will have to defend against a team hungry for a win.
