This season hasn't been kind to the Fruitdale Pirates, who are still winless after their 11th match. They were dealt a 91-20 loss at the hands of Leroy on Thursday. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Fruitdale in their matchups with Leroy: they've now lost nine in a row.
When it comes to explaining why Fruitdale lost, one person who can't be blamed is Deion Taylor. Despite the final result, he scored nine points along with six rebounds and three steals. Taylor scored a full 45% of Fruitdale's points, the 11th time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Fruitdale struggled to work together and finished the game with only four assists. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Leroy racked up 23 assists.
Leading Leroy to victory were Joshua Reed and Taylor Crumedy. Reed shot 5-for-6 from deep and dropped a double-double on 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Crumedy scored 28 points along with seven steals and six assists. Those 21 points set a new season-high mark for him. Ray Phillips was another key contributor, scoring nine points along with eight assists and eight rebounds.
Fruitdale bumped their record down to 0-11 with that loss, which was their 16th straight on the road dating back to last season. As for Leroy, their win bumped their record up to 2-5.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Fruitdale won't have much time to rest: their next game is against Southern Choctaw at 6:30 p.m. on January 5th. Leroy won't have much time to rest: their next game is against Jackson at 7:30 p.m. on January 5th. Jackson presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than Leroy in Alabama (Jackson is ranked 65th, while Leroy is ranked 340th).
