The Pine Ridge Panthers and the Mainland Buccaneers squared off in some playoff action on Thursday, but sadly the Pine Ridge Panthers had to settle for second. They were the victim of a rough 66-40 loss at the hands of the Buccaneers. Pine Ridge has not had much luck with Mainland recently, as the team's come up short the last four times they've met.
When it comes to explaining why Pine Ridge lost, one person who can't be blamed is Elijah Laird. Despite the final result, he scored 17 points. Another player making a difference was Canyon Powers, who scored six points along with three steals and three blocks.
Mainland's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Nathan Kirk, who scored 19 points along with two steals. Kirk has been hot recently, having posted 15 or more points the last seven times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Narayan Thomas, who scored 11 points along with six rebounds and two steals.
Pine Ridge's loss dropped their record down to 9-14. As for Mainland, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 18-6.
Pine Ridge does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Mainland, they didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 43-39 win vs. St. Augustine on the 10th.
