The Porter Ridge Pirates suffered their biggest loss since November 25, 2023 on Friday. They took a serious blow against Carmel Christian, falling 85-51. While losing is never fun, Porter Ridge can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 288th, while Carmel Christian is ranked 46th).
Several Pirates players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Garrett Cox, who scored 11 points. Another player making a difference was Rai'shawn Elmore, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Carmel Christian was led to victory by Bryce Slay and Kam Taylor. Slay scored 20 points along with six assists and six rebounds, while Taylor scored 26 points along with seven rebounds. Taylor is absolutely dominating the point category: he's posted at least 15 every time he's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Chandler Kennedy, who scored seven points.
Porter Ridge has not been sharp recently, as they've lost five of their last six games, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-12 record this season. As for Carmel Christian, the win was the fifth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 12-10.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Porter Ridge will take on Cuthbertson at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The pair have had a bumpy ride up to this point with nine consecutive losses for Cuthbertson and three for Porter Ridge. As for Carmel Christian, they will play host again and welcome Cannon, where tip off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Cannon knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past 26 games -- so hopefully Carmel Christian likes a good challenge.