The Paw Paw Pirates were the 66-48 winner over the Salisbury Elk Lick Elks when they last played one another two weeks ago, but their luck changed this time around. Paw Paw fell 61-49 to Salisbury Elk Lick on Friday. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as Paw Paw came into the game with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 63rd in West Virginia, while Salisbury Elk Lick is ranked 532nd in Pennsylvania).
Paw Paw lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Donavan Tanouye, who scored 15 points along with nine rebounds and five steals. The game was Tanouye's tenth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Ayden Crabtree, who scored 14 points along with five steals.
Paw Paw has traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost four of their last five matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-4 record this season. As for Salisbury Elk Lick, the victory was the third in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 6-3.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Paw Paw will take on Harman at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. As for Salisbury Elk Lick, they will be playing at home against Blacklick Valley at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Hopefully Blacklick Valley focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up eight on Wednesday.
