The Smoky Mountain Mustangs fought the good fight in their overtime contest against the Tuscola Mountaineers on Wednesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell to the Mountaineers 62-58. Having run the score up that high, both teams might be doing some extra defensive drills very soon.
Despite the loss, Smoky Mountain saw an underclassman step up: Custer Prenger dropped a double-double on 18 points and 14 rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Ace Prenger, who scored 12 points along with five rebounds and two steals.
Even though they lost, Smoky Mountain smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive rebounds. This was only their tenth loss (out of 14 games) when they hit their own glass that hard.
Leading Tuscola to victory were Jeremy Horton and Jed West. Horton almost dropped a triple-double on 11 points, 13 rebounds, and nine blocks, while West dropped a double-double on 17 points and 11 rebounds. That's the first time this season that West pulled down eight or more rebounds. Peyton Ollis was another key contributor, scoring ten points along with six rebounds and three steals.
Smoky Mountain has not been sharp recently, as they've lost four of their last five contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-13 record this season. As for Tuscola, their victory ended a 13-game drought on the road and puts them at 1-12.
Smoky Mountain will face off against East Henderson at 8:00 p.m. on Monday. The timing is sure in East Henderson's favor as the team sits on six straight wins at home while Smoky Mountain has been banged up by 12 consecutive losses on the road. Tuscola will take on West Henderson at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday. West Henderson has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 422 points over their last six matches.
