Union Pines is 0-10 against Pinecrest since December of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Union Pines Vikings' homestand continues as they prepare to take on the Pinecrest Patriots at 7:30 p.m. on January 23rd. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this match.
Union Pines suffered their biggest defeat yet this season on Friday. They were the victim of a tough 72-47 defeat at the hands of Southern Lee. While losing is never fun, Union Pines can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 368th, while Southern Lee is ranked 85th).
Despite the loss, Union Pines got a solid performance out of Zion Kiser, who scored 13 points along with two steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Aiden Leonard, who scored eight points along with five rebounds.
Meanwhile, Pinecrest's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Friday after their third straight loss. They fell to Hoke County 54-50. That's two games in a row now that Pinecrest has lost by exactly four points.
Pinecrest's loss came about despite a quality game from Elijah Melton, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 11 rebounds. Melton hasn't dropped below eight rebounds for six straight games. Zymire Spencer was another key contributor, scoring 11 points along with five rebounds and three steals.
Union Pines has traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost six of their last seven games, which put a noticeable dent in their 9-7 record this season. As for Pinecrest, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-7.
This contest is shaping up to be a blowout: Union Pines hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having only averaged 65.6 points per game. However, it's not like Pinecrest struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 55.2 points per game. The only thing between Union Pines and another offensive beatdown is Pinecrest. Will they be able to keep them contained?
Union Pines was taken down by Pinecrest 69-33 in their previous matchup back in February of 2023. The matchup was all but decided by halftime, at which point Union Pines was down 37-13.
