The Smoky Mountain Mustangs pushed their score all the way to 67 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They took a 78-67 hit to the loss column at the hands of West Henderson. Despite running the score up even higher than they did on Wednesday (59), Smoky Mountain still had to take the loss.
When it comes to explaining why Smoky Mountain lost, one person who can't be blamed is Cameron Fowler. Despite the final result, he scored 20 points along with eight assists and five rebounds. Those 20 points set a new season-high mark for him. The team also got some help courtesy of Custer Prenger, who scored 15 points along with seven rebounds.
It was another big night for Grant Putnam, who scored 26 points along with six rebounds for West Henderson. Those 26 points set a new season-high mark for him. Another player making a difference was Jackson Lyda, who scored 18 points along with five rebounds.
This is the second loss in a row for Smoky Mountain and nudges their season record down to 3-11. As for West Henderson, they pushed their record up to 8-5 with that win, which was their third straight on the road.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Smoky Mountain's homestand continues as they prepare to take on Erwin at 8:00 p.m. on January 8th. Erwin knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with flashy point totals in its past seven contests -- so hopefully Smoky Mountain likes a good challenge. As for West Henderson, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Pisgah at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Hopefully Pisgah focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up six on Friday.
