The Pisgah Bears will be home for the holidays to greet the Smoky Mountain Mustangs at 8:00 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Pisgah's favor is that they have posted big point totals every time they've taken the court this season.
Even though Pisgah has not done well against Mountain Heritage recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. Pisgah walked away with an 80-68 win over Mountain Heritage. Given Pisgah's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 67th, while Mountain Heritage is ranked 392nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Pisgah's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Mason Putnam, who scored 18 points along with eight assists and five steals, and Sawyer Belue, who scored 23 points along with six steals. The matchup was Belue's fifth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Aaron Clark, who scored 11 points along with six rebounds.
Smoky Mountain can finally bid farewell to their eight-game losing streak dating back to last season thanks to their game on Monday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Swain County and snuck past 66-64. That 66-64 margin sets a new team best for Smoky Mountain this season.
Pisgah pushed their record up to 5-0 with that win, which was their third straight on the road. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 80.7 points per game. As for Smoky Mountain, their win bumped their record up to 1-6.
Pisgah beat Smoky Mountain 78-65 in their previous matchup back in January. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Smoky Mountain's Matthew Brown, who dropped a double-double on 31 points and 14 rebounds. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be that much easier for Pisgah to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
