Beech has enjoyed the comforts of home their last two games, but now they'll head out on the road. The Beech Buccaneers and the Cleveland Blue Raiders will face off at 1:00 p.m. on December 29th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Hopefully Beech focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 11 on Friday.
Beech scored the most points they've had all season to find success. They walked away with a 70-57 victory over Greenwood. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Beech's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Loryn O'Neal, who went 6 for 7 from beyond the arc en route to 23 points and 0 assists. That's the first time this season that O'Neal scored 15 or more points. The team also got some help courtesy of Carson Sisk, who scored 15 points along with four steals.
Meanwhile, after a string of five wins, Cleveland's good fortune finally ran out on Thursday. They fell 52-43 to McMinn Central. While losing is never fun, Cleveland can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee basketball rankings (they are ranked 42nd, while McMinn Central is ranked second).
Despite the defeat, Cleveland had strong showings from Callie Brewer, who scored 16 points along with six rebounds, and Lauren Hurst, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 12 rebounds. The game was Hurst's seventh in a row with at least ten points.
Beech's win bumped their record up to 8-4. As for Cleveland, their loss dropped their record down to 9-5.
Keep an eye on the arc in Friday's matchup: Beech have made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having only averaged 4.7 threes per game. However, it's not like Cleveland struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 6.4 threes per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
