The Smoky Mountain Mustangs pushed their score all the way to 59 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They received a tough blow as they fell 78-59 to Franklin. Smoky Mountain has not had much luck with Franklin recently, as the team's come up short the last six times they've met.
When it comes to explaining why Smoky Mountain lost, one person who can't be blamed is Lane Wike. Despite the final result, he scored 25 points along with eight rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Wike has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Ben Brown, who scored 12 points.
Franklin was led to victory by William Rauers and Max Mcclure. Rauers scored 21 points along with nine rebounds and three steals, while Mcclure scored 25 points along with four steals. Mcclure is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 15 or more in the last seven games he's played. Braylen Dezarn was another key contributor, scoring ten points along with three steals.
Smoky Mountain bumped their record down to 4-12 with that defeat, which was their 12th straight on the road dating back to last season. As for Franklin, the win (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 11-4.
Smoky Mountain will be playing at home against Tuscola at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday. As for Franklin, they will head out on the road to challenge West Henderson at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Hopefully West Henderson focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up seven last Thursday.
