Basketball Recap: Nate Jarrell Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat Lumberton

Ashley posted their closest victory since January 13th on Tuesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against the Lumberton Pirates, sneaking past 57-55. This was a revenge game for the Screaming Eagle: when they faced off against the Pirates last Tuesday, they had to take a 61-54 defeat.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Ashley to victory, but perhaps none more so than Nate Jarrell, who went 7 for 17 on his way to 20 points. Jarrell's evening made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Keyon Jones, who went 5 of 11 en route to 13 points in addition to eight rebounds and three blocks.

When it comes to explaining why Lumberton lost, don't look at Jaiden Shephard. Despite the final result, he dropped a double-double on 18 points and 16 boards. Shephard has been hot for a while, having posted eight or more rebounds the last 28 times he's played. Another player making a difference was Christopher Hammonds, who went 7 of 10 on his way to 14 points and six rebounds.

Ashley's first win this season bumped their record up to 1-2. As for Lumberton, they suffered their first home loss, dropping their record down to 3-2.

Ashley didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 55-47 victory against East Columbus on the 5th. As for Lumberton, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next matchup, a 53-48 win against Hoke County on the 4th.