The Emerald Vikings were the 65-41 winner over the McCormick Chiefs when they last played one another back in December of 2022, but their luck changed this time around. Emerald ended up on the wrong side of a tough 71-48 walloping at the hands of McCormick on Monday. While losing is never fun, Emerald can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' South Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 112th, while McCormick is ranked 30th).
Emerald's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Kennan Marshall, who scored nine points along with five rebounds and four steals. Damarquis Hopkins was another key contributor, scoring six points along with eight rebounds.
Even though they lost, Emerald were smashing the offensive glass and finished the game with 21 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as McCormick only pulled down nine offensive rebounds.
McCormick's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Terrence Cartledge, who scored 15 points along with six rebounds. Cartledge also scored 15 points for the first time this season. Another player making a difference was Dequincy Jennings, who scored 17 points along with five rebounds.
Emerald now has a losing record at 1-2. As for McCormick, the win was the third in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 4-1.
Emerald will look to defend their home court on Wednesday against Strom Thurmond at 8:00 p.m. McCormick won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Ninety Six at 7:30 p.m. on December 5th.
