Smoky Mountain and East Henderson are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2019, but not for long. The Smoky Mountain Mustangs will head out on the road to take on the East Henderson Eagles at 8:00 p.m. on Friday. Smoky Mountain is hoping to put an end to a 12-game streak of away losses.
Smoky Mountain fought the good fight in their overtime matchup against Tuscola on Wednesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell to the Mountaineers 62-58. Having run the score up that high, both teams might be doing some extra defensive drills very soon.
Despite the defeat, Smoky Mountain saw an underclassman step up: Custer Prenger dropped a double-double on 18 points and 14 rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Ace Prenger, who scored 12 points along with five rebounds and two steals.
Even though they lost, Smoky Mountain smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive rebounds. This was only their tenth loss (out of 14 games) when they hit their own glass that hard.
Meanwhile, East Henderson had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 19 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Wednesday. They had just enough and edged Pisgah out 60-57. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory East Henderson has posted yet this season.
Caiden Brewer continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a double-double on 22 points and ten rebounds. He is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 15 or more in the last 12 games he's played. Brady Nix was another key contributor, scoring 14 points along with six rebounds.
Smoky Mountain has not been sharp recently, as they've lost four of their last five contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-13 record this season. As for East Henderson, their win bumped their record up to 13-4.
Smoky Mountain lost to East Henderson on the road by a decisive 64-45 margin in their previous matchup back in February of 2023. Thankfully for Smoky Mountain, Reece Alverson (who scored 14 points along with five assists and five rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
