Preview: Palisades Pumas vs. South Mecklenburg Sabres
The Palisades Pumas will head out on the road to face off against the South Mecklenburg Sabres at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Hopefully Palisades focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 29 on Tuesday.
Palisades unfortunately witnessed the end of their four-game winning streak. They had to suffer through a rough 68-29 loss at the hands of Myers Park. Palisades was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 46-16.
Kingston Henry was Palisades' leading scorer, having posted eight points.
Jayln Hayes took the lead distributing the ball, coming up with two assists.
Meanwhile, even though Berry scored an imposing 59 points on Tuesday, South Mecklenburg still came out on top. South Mecklenburg enjoyed a cozy 75-59 victory over Berry. Given South Mecklenburg's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 56th, while Berry is ranked 465th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
South Mecklenburg got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Anderson Skelton out in front who dropped a double-double on 17 points and ten rebounds. That's the first time this season that Skelton pulled down eight or more rebounds. Peter Moye was another key contributor, scoring 16 points along with six assists and six rebounds.
Palisades' loss dropped their record down to 5-3. As for South Mecklenburg, their victory was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 6-0.
Friday's game is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Palisades have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 43% of their threes per game. However, it's not like South Mecklenburg struggles in that department as they've nailed 45% of their threes per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Palisades won a matchup that couldn't have been any closer when the teams last played back in January, slipping by South Mecklenburg 57-56. Does Palisades have another victory up their sleeve, or will South Mecklenburg turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
