Basketball Recap: Piedmont Falls Despite Big Games from Carson Smith and Nolan Smith

On Monday, the Piedmont Panthers were within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 55-49 to the Catawba Ridge Copperheads. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 413th in North Carolina, while the Copperheads are ranked 86th in South Carolina).

Piedmont's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Nolan Smith, who went 6 of 8 en route to 15 points, and Carson Smith, who posted eight points and three steals. The dominant performance also gave Carson a new career-high in assists (four). Another player making a difference was Marquise Barkley, who had five points.

Catawba Ridge found their leader in sophomore Isaiah Thomas, who went 10 of 14 on his way to 24 points and seven rebounds. Those 24 points set a new season-high mark for Thomas. The team also got some help courtesy of Mark Caslaru, who put up nine points and seven rebounds.

Piedmont's loss dropped their record down to 5-8. As for Catawba Ridge, their win bumped their record up to an identical 5-8.

Piedmont didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 46-19 defeat against Monroe on the 3rd. As for Catawba Ridge, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next game, a 45-31 victory against Northwestern on the 3rd.