Even though the Mitchell Mustangs have not done well against the Countryside Cougars recently (they were 0-5 in their previous five matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. Mitchell walked away with a 58-51 victory over Countryside. The win was all the more spectacular given Mitchell's disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 409th, while Countryside is ranked 193rd).
It was another big night for Ben Unger, who scored 21 points along with seven rebounds and four steals. That makes it four consecutive games in which he has scored at least 25% of Mitchell's points. Another player making a difference was Connor Peterson, who scored 16 points along with five assists and five rebounds.
Countryside lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Corey Perlin, who scored 12 points along with six rebounds. The matchup was Perlin's fifth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Carter Padags, who scored 11 points along with six rebounds.
Mitchell pushed their record up to 2-5 with that victory, which was their third straight at home dating back to last season. As for Countryside, they are on a four-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 3-4.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Mitchell will challenge Gulf at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Gulf is still on the hunt for that elusive first 'W'. Countryside and Dunedin will face off at 7:45 p.m. on December 12th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Hopefully Dunedin focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 32 on Thursday.
