Basketball Recap: Evan Pate's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Princeton over North Johnston

Princeton was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They were four points away from ending the streak, but they lost a 48-44 heartbreaker at the hands of the North Johnston Panthers. The Bulldogs lost against the Panthers in their previous head to head back in February of 2024, too, but the margin this time around was much closer than the 64-36 score last time.

Several Bulldogs players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Evan Pate, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and 16 boards. Those 11 points gave Pate a new career-high. Garrett Lane was another key player, putting up 13 points.

Even though they lost, Princeton smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as North Johnston only pulled down seven offensive rebounds.

Leading North Johnston to victory were Kaleb Pone and Ben Cuddington. Pone went 7 of 16 en route to 22 points and six rebounds, while Cuddington went 6 for 11 on his way to 15 points and seven boards. That makes it seven consecutive games in which Pone has scored at least a third of North Johnston's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Cameron Cuddington, who posted eight points.

Princeton's loss dropped their record down to 6-11. As for North Johnston, their win was their first in the conference, bumping their conference record up to 1-3 and their overall record up to 5-11.

Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Princeton will face off against Spring Creek at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Princeton is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 52.1 points per game this season. As for North Johnston, they will square off against Beddingfield at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday.