Hoke County was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They were four points away from ending the streak, but they lost a 59-55 heartbreaker at the hands of the Pinecrest Patriots. While losing is never fun, the Bucks can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 307th, while the Patriots are ranked 124th).
Despite the loss, Hoke County saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Machai Brown went 5 of 9 en route to 14 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Savion Kinston, who posted eight points.
Pinecrest had a senior duo take command as Zymire Spencer almost dropped a double-double on 24 points and nine boards and Blake Hillyard scored 15 points. Hillyard is trending in the right direction considering he's improved his point production for four straight games. Elijah Melton was another key player, putting up four points and seven rebounds.
Hoke County's defeat dropped their record down to 6-10. As for Pinecrest, the victory (which was their fourth in a row) raised their record to 11-4.
Hoke County has already played their next matchup, a 76-61 win against Scotland on the 25th. As for Pinecrest, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next contest, a 67-56 victory against Union Pines on the 17th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
