Basketball Game Preview: Pinecrest Patriots vs. Fairmont Golden Tornadoes

The Pinecrest Patriots will venture away from home to face off against the Fairmont Golden Tornadoes at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.

Pinecrest saw some tournament action on Tuesday. They strolled past Purnell Swett with points to spare, taking the game 66-50. Given the Patriots' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 153rd, while the Rams are ranked 435th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Fairmont came tearing into Tuesday's matchup with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 15.8 points) and they left with even more momentum. They came out on top against the Wildcats by a score of 62-54. The Golden Tornadoes' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.

Pinecrest has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 6-3 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 64.8 points per game. As for Fairmont, their win was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-2.

Pinecrest came up short against Fairmont in their previous matchup back in December of 2023, falling 52-39. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Fairmont's Landon Cummings, who posted 21 points in addition to five boards and three steals. Now that Pinecrest knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.