The Porter Ridge Pirates will head out on the road to face off against the Forest Hills Yellow Jackets at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Porter Ridge is hoping to put an end to an eight-game streak of away losses dating back to last season.
Porter Ridge pushed their score all the way to 55 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They took a 67-55 hit to the loss column at the hands of Hickory Ridge. While losing is never fun, Porter Ridge can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 451st, while Hickory Ridge is ranked 29th).
Porter Ridge's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Samaj Long, who scored 29 points along with five assists, and Rai'shawn Elmore who scored 12 points along with six rebounds. Long set a new season high mark in points with 29.
Meanwhile, Forest Hills narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past Central 52-49. The win made it back-to-back wins for Forest Hills.
Forest Hills' success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Amari Melton led the charge by scoring 14 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Joshua Huntley, who scored ten points along with five rebounds.
Porter Ridge's loss dropped their record down to 1-7. As for Forest Hills, they now have a winning record of 3-2.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Porter Ridge have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 30.4 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Forest Hills, though, as they've been averaging only 35.8 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Porter Ridge was able to grind out a solid victory over Forest Hills in their previous matchup back in December of 2022, winning 74-62. The rematch might be a little tougher for Porter Ridge since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
