After flying high against Montgomery Central last Thursday, Union Pines came back down to earth. The Union Pines Vikings were just a bucket shy of victory on Friday and fell 50-49 to the South Johnston Trojans. The Vikings were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Trojans apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in December of 2023.
Despite the loss, Union Pines still got an impressive performance from Jaylen Kyle, who scored 19 points in addition to seven rebounds and two blocks. Another player making a difference was Aiden Leonard, who posted ten points plus eight rebounds.
Even though they lost, Union Pines smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in 28 consecutive games dating back to last season.
South Johnston had a senior duo take command as Cole Norris dropped a double-double on 15 points and 11 rebounds and Kaleb Williams went 5 for 11 en route to 12 points plus eight rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Jax Barbour, who scored seven points along with two steals.
Having lost for the first time this season, Union Pines fell to 2-1. As for South Johnston, their win ended a four-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 1-1.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Union Pines has already played their next matchup (against South Johnston), but no score has been uploaded at the time of writing. As for South Johnston, they will have some time to savor their victory since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Eastern Wayne at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
