Basketball Recap: Union Pines Comes Up Short

Union Pines lost against Pinecrest back in February of 2024 and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Friday. The Union Pines Vikings fell 67-56 to the Pinecrest Patriots. While losing is never fun, the Vikings can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 239th, while the Patriots are ranked 117th).

When it comes to explaining why Union Pines lost, don't look at Jaylen Kyle. Despite the final result, he almost dropped a double-double on 18 points and nine rebounds. Kyle's evening made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Kingsley Donaldson, who posted 11 points along with seven steals and six boards.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Pinecrest to victory, but perhaps none more so than Zymire Spencer, who went 7 for 17 on his way to 17 points in addition to six assists and three steals. Spencer is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed three or more in the last four games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Tavarus McLaughlin, who earned ten points and three steals.

Union Pines' defeat dropped their record down to 11-6. As for Pinecrest, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 12-4 record this season.

Union Pines wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next game, a 71-59 win against Fairmont on the 20th. As for Pinecrest, they will get to enjoy the win for a while: their next game is against Richmond at 7:30 p.m. on January 28th.