If the Lumberton Pirates were riding high off their 70-22 takedown of the Douglas Byrd Eagles last Tuesday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. Lumberton took a 61-51 hit to the loss column at the hands of Seventy-First on Friday. Lumberton has not had much luck with Seventy-First recently, as the team's come up short the last four times they've met.
Lumberton's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Dimetrious Jones, who dropped a double-double on 24 points and 13 rebounds, and Jaiden Shephard who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 11 rebounds. Shephard is absolutely dominating the rebound category: he's posted at least eight every time he's taken the court this season. Christopher Hammonds was another key contributor, scoring four points along with five rebounds.
Seventy-First's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Micah Dowdy-Isom, who scored 12 points along with eight rebounds and three steals. That's the first time this season that Dowdy-Isom grabbed two or more steals. The team also got some help courtesy of DeAndre Nance, who scored 13 points along with six rebounds.
Lumberton's loss dropped their record down to 7-7. As for Seventy-First, the win (which was their ninth in a row) raised their record to 10-1.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Lumberton will challenge Purnell Swett at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The timing isn't great for Purnell Swett: they have been struggling with five straight losses at home, while Lumberton has snatched up three consecutive wins on the road. Seventy-First on the road again on Tuesday and play against Douglas Byrd at 7:30 p.m. on January 23rd. Douglas Byrd comes in still looking for their first win of the season.
