Northside - Pinetown is 9-1 against Lejeune since January of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Northside - Pinetown Panthers will be playing in front of their home fans against the Lejeune Devil Pups at 8:00 p.m. Northside - Pinetown has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.
Northside - Pinetown can now show off nine landslide victories after their most recent match on Tuesday. They took their match at home with ease, bagging a 71-42 win over Jones. With Northside - Pinetown ahead 38-15 at the half, the matchup was all but over already.
Northside - Pinetown's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Griffin Johnson, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 14 rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Tate Gibbs, who scored 11 points along with seven rebounds and three steals.
Meanwhile, Lejeune's game on Friday was all tied up 32-32 at the half, but sadly for them it didn't stay that way. They fell 72-62 to Pamlico County. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their last game two weeks ago (61), Lejeune still had to take the loss.
Despite their loss, Lejeune saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Devon Charles, who dropped a double-double on 24 points and ten rebounds, was perhaps the best of all. Charles has been hot recently, having posted 15 or more points the last three times he's played. Trevor Highsmith was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 18 points and ten rebounds.
Even though they lost, Lejeune were working as a unit and finished the game with 20 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Pamlico County only racked up 13 assists.
Northside - Pinetown's win bumped their record up to 13-5. As for Lejeune, their loss was their fifth straight on the road, which bumped their record down to 6-7.
Friday's game is shaping up to be a scrappy matchup: Northside - Pinetown have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 33.3 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Lejeune, though, as they've been averaging only 27.8 rebounds per game. Given Northside - Pinetown's sizeable advantage in that area, Lejeune will need to find a way to close that gap.
Northside - Pinetown skirted past Lejeune 69-66 in their previous matchup back in February of 2023. Does Northside - Pinetown have another victory up their sleeve, or will Lejeune turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
