After three games on the road, Starmount is heading back home. They will be home for the holidays to greet the Wilkes Central Eagles at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
It's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 71-34, which was the final score in Starmount's tilt against Ashe County on Tuesday.
Despite the defeat, Starmount had strong showings from Jadon Hurt-bailey, who scored eight points along with three steals, and Jordon Dobson, who scored 13 points.
Starmount struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only four offensive rebounds. That's the fewest offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, after a string of six wins, Wilkes Central's good fortune finally ran out on Friday. They took a 73-67 hit to the loss column at the hands of North Surry. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Wilkes Central in their matchups with North Surry: they've now lost seven in a row.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Hunter Wyles, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and ten rebounds. That's the first time this season that he scored 15 or more points. The team also got some help courtesy of Tyson Owens, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and ten rebounds.
Starmount's loss dropped their record down to 2-2. As for Wilkes Central, their defeat ended a four-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 6-1.
Wednesday's contest is shaping up to be a scrappy game: Starmount have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 26 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Wilkes Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 46.6 rebounds per game. Given Starmount's sizeable advantage in that area, Wilkes Central will need to find a way to close that gap.
Starmount took a serious blow against Wilkes Central when the teams last played on December 1st, falling 81-45. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Owens, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 14 rebounds. Now that Starmount knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
