Basketball Recap: Tuscola comes up short despite Jed West's strong performance

By Team Reports Feb 3, 2024, 10:17pm

Basketball Recap: Tuscola Mountaineers vs. East Henderson Eagles

The Tuscola Mountaineers's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Friday after their fourth straight loss. They took a 63-48 bruising from East Henderson. Tuscola has struggled against the Eagles recently, as their match on Friday was their sixth consecutive lost matchup.

When it comes to explaining why Tuscola lost, one person who can't be blamed is Jed West. Despite the final result, he scored 20 points. That was a full 41.7% of Tuscola's points, marking the fourth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jeremy Horton, who scored nine points along with eight rebounds.

Caiden Brewer continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines for East Henderson, scoring 34 points along with seven assists and five rebounds. Brewer is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 16 or more in the last 16 games he's played. Another player making a difference was Chase Evans, who scored 12 points.

Tuscola's defeat was their 19th straight at home dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 1-16. Those losses can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 50.7 points per game. As for East Henderson, the win was the seventh in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 17-4.

Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Tuscola will face off against the Bears at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Pisgah has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 775 points over their last 11 contests. As for East Henderson, they will head out on the road to take on the Knights at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are closely ranked in North Carolina (North Henderson is ranked 127th, while the Eagles are ranked 128th).