The Bertie Falcons will challenge the Perquimans Pirates at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The timing is sure in Bertie's favor as the squad sits on four straight wins at home while Perquimans has been banged up by 12 consecutive losses on the road dating back to last season.
Bertie easily dispatched North East Carolina Prep on Tuesday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. Bertie fell just short of Washington County by a score of 52-50 on Friday. While losing is never fun, the Falcons can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 316th, while the Panthers are ranked 100th).
Despite the defeat, Bertie got top-tier performance from Zymiere Dempsey, who dropped a double-double on 24 points and 14 boards. That was a full 48% of Bertie's points, marking the fourth time in a row he's posted more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Tayvien Ward, who went 8 for 20 on his way to 18 points.
Even though they lost, Bertie smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive rebounds in eight consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Perquimans was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Monday as they fell 58-53 to Northampton. While the Pirates didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Yellowjackets 21-12 in the first quarter.
Perquimans' loss dropped their record down to 2-14. As for Bertie, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-7.
Everything came up roses for Bertie against Perquimans in their previous matchup back in February of 2024, as the team secured a 76-35 victory. In that match, Bertie amassed a halftime lead of 51-11, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Tuesday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
