Basketball Game Preview: Kings Mountain Mountaineers vs. Palisades Pumas

The Kings Mountain Mountaineers will take on the Palisades Pumas in a tournament on Monday. Kings Mountain knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past nine matches -- so hopefully Palisades likes a good challenge.

Kings Mountain is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Gaston Day just ended the team's six-game winning streak on Saturday. They took a 66-59 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Spartans.

J'Myun Huskey

Rebounds

12/28/24 vs Gaston Day	18
12/27/24 vs East Rutherford	7
12/19/24 @ Stuart W. Cramer	1
12/14/24 vs Bandys	9
12/13/24 vs South Point	9

Despite the loss, Kings Mountain got top-tier performance from J'Myun Huskey, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 18 boards. With that strong performance, Huskey is now averaging an impressive 8.8 rebounds per game. Kee'Donn Linney was another key player, putting up 13 points and five rebounds.

Meanwhile, Palisades suffered their biggest defeat since February 27th on Saturday. They came up short against Ashbrook, falling 68-45.

Kings Mountain will need focus on slowing down Jayen Reeves, one of several Palisades players who made an impact when they last played. He went 6 of 13 on his way to 14 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Joshua Harris, who posted ten points and three steals.

Palisades has been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-6 record this season. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 60.3 points per game. As for Kings Mountain, their loss dropped their record down to 6-3.

Kings Mountain beat Palisades 69-61 in their previous matchup back in December of 2023. Does Kings Mountain have another victory up their sleeve, or will Palisades turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.