Even though the Smoky Mountain Mustangs scored an imposing 64 points on Friday, the North Henderson Knights still came out on top. North Henderson managed a 70-64 victory over the Mustangs. Given North Henderson's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 126th, while the Mustangs are ranked 496th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
North Henderson had a senior duo take command as Bryson Rowe dropped a double-double on 14 points and 12 rebounds and Zion McDaniel scored 17 points along with five rebounds. Another player making a difference was Luke Hill, who scored eight points along with two steals.
Smoky Mountain's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Lane Wike, who scored 16 points along with five assists. The team also got some help courtesy of Custer Prenger, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Even though they lost, Smoky Mountain were working as a unit and finished the game with 16 assists. This was only their 13th loss (out of 17 games) when they've passed the ball that well.
North Henderson pushed their record up to 15-5 with that victory, which was their third straight at home. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 76.3 points per game. As for Smoky Mountain, they are on a five-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 4-16.
North Henderson will be playing at home against the Mountaineers at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Hopefully Tuscola focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 21 on Friday. As for Smoky Mountain, they will head out on the road to challenge the Falcons at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday. West Henderson has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 552 points over their last eight matches.
