The Northside - Pinetown Panthers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six games by 20 points or more this season. They blew past Columbia 60-40. Given Northside - Pinetown's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 195th, while Columbia is ranked 478th), the result on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Griffin Johnson, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 12 rebounds. He is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as he's now pulled down eight or more in the last five games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Malachi Moore, who scored 12 points along with five steals.
Northside - Pinetown's victory was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 10-2. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 67.4 points per game. As for Columbia, they are on a four-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 2-6.
Northside - Pinetown will have some time to savor their victory since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Northeast Academy For Aerospace and Advanced Tech at 6:30 p.m. on January 3, 2024. Northeast Academy For Aerospace and Advanced Tech is still on the hunt for that elusive first 'W'. Columbia and Albemarle School will round out the year against one another at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday at. Hopefully Albemarle School focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 28 last Thursday.
