The Jones Trojans pushed their score all the way to 71 on Tuesday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They were the victim of a rough 91-71 defeat at the hands of East Carteret. Jones has struggled against the Mariners recently, as their game on Tuesday was their seventh consecutive lost matchup.
Despite the loss, Jones still got an impressive performance from Gabriel Butler, who went 6 for 12 from beyond the arc en route to 34 points and 2 assists. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Butler has scored all season. Braylen Williams was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with three steals.
East Carteret had a senior duo take command as Shamel Baker almost dropped a triple-double on 25 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists and Charles Matheka scored 36 points. Matheka has been hot recently, having posted 19 or more points the last eight times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Kai Thammavongsa, who scored eight points along with seven rebounds and three blocks.
Jones has traveled a rocky road recently having lost six of their last eight matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 10-10 record this season. As for East Carteret, the win was the eighth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 13-7.
Jones will be playing in front of their home fans against the Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Northside - Pinetown's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last five contests. As for East Carteret, they will head out on the road to square off against the Hurricanes at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Hopefully Pamlico County focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up seven on Wednesday.
