If the First Flight Nighthawks were riding high off their 86-41 takedown of the Manteo Redskins on Friday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. First Flight opened the new year with a less-than-successful 67-60 defeat to Swansboro. While losing is never fun, First Flight can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 244th, while Swansboro is ranked 37th).
First Flight's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Mason Dobie, who scored 22 points, and Carson Hahne who scored 17 points. That's the first time this season that Hahne scored 15 or more points. The team also got some help courtesy of Burke Powers, who scored six points.
Swansboro's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jacob Nagler, who scored 18 points along with five steals. Nagler continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Tayvion Tangiora, who scored 17 points along with eight rebounds and three blocks.
First Flight has not been sharp recently, as they've lost three of their last four contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-8 record this season. As for Swansboro, the victory (which was their tenth in a row) raised their record to 11-1.
First Flight will be playing at home against Camden County at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. Hopefully Camden County focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 16 on Friday. Swansboro is on the road again on Friday and play against Richlands at 7:30 p.m. on January 12th.
