Two dominant guards in Rhett Britt and Quinn Bentley are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Topsail Pirates will be playing in front of their home fans against the Ashley Screaming Eagle at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Last Friday, Topsail was just a bucket shy of victory and fell 72-71 to North Brunswick. The Pirates haven't had much luck with the Scorpions recently, as the team's come up short the last seven times they've met.
| 01/17/25 @ North Brunswick | 5 |
| 12/23/24 @ North Myrtle Beach | 4 |
| 01/19/24 vs Laney | 4 |
| 12/29/23 vs South Lenoir | 3 |
| 01/09/25 vs West Brunswick | 3 |
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Britt, who dropped a double-double on 23 points and ten boards. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in steals (five). Another player making a difference was Duron Vaughn, who almost dropped a double-double on 23 points and nine rebounds.
Meanwhile, Ashley was not able to break out of their rough patch on Saturday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They were three points away from ending the streak, but they lost a 64-61 heartbreaker at the hands of South Lenoir. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Screaming Eagle have suffered since February 20, 2024.
Topsail will have to keep a close watch on Bentley and Keyon Jones, a pair of players who had a big impact on Ashley's prior game. Bentley went 9 of 21 en route to 23 points, while Jones went 9 for 12 on his way to 18 points and seven boards. Nate Jarrell was another key player, putting up eight points.
Topsail now has a losing record at 7-8. As for Ashley, their loss dropped their record down to 6-10.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Topsail has been crashing the rebounds this season, having averaged 32.8 boards per game. However, it's not like Ashley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 26.3 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Topsail ended up a good deal behind Ashley when the teams last played back in February of 2024, losing 81-64. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Bentley, who went 8 for 11 on his way to 27 points. Now that Topsail knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
