The Pine Lake Prep Pride will head out on the road to take on the Corvian Community Cardinals at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a eight-game winning streak alive.
Last Tuesday, Pine Lake Prep made easy work of Langtree Charter and carried off a 77-54 win. Given Pine Lake Prep's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 94th, while Langtree Charter is ranked 585th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Pine Lake Prep's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Joseph Bruce, who scored eight points along with five steals, and Robert Magner, who scored 15 points along with two steals and two blocks. Magner is trending in the right direction, as he's improved his point production for three games straight. Brennan Greene was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with two steals.
Meanwhile, Corvian Community got the win against Mountain Island Charter on Tuesday by a conclusive 71-50.
Corvian Community's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Doug Quarles III led the charge by almost dropping a double-double on 11 points and nine rebounds. Quarles III has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last five times he's played. Another player making a difference was RJ Moore Jr., who scored nine points along with two steals.
Pine Lake Prep is on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten games, which provided a nice bump to their 15-6 record this season. As for Corvian Community, their win bumped their record up to 17-3.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Pine Lake Prep have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 30.7 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Corvian Community struggles in that department as they've been averaging 41.2 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Pine Lake Prep beat Corvian Community 63-53 when the teams last played back in January. The rematch might be a little tougher for Pine Lake Prep since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
