The Nantahala Hawks pushed their score all the way to 65 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell 76-65 to Blue Ridge Early College. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Nantahala in their matchups with Blue Ridge Early College: they've now lost six in a row.
Nantahala's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Cole McCoy, who scored 22 points. Those 22 points set a new season-high mark for him. Another player making a difference was Landon Neal, who scored nine points along with eight rebounds and six assists.
Even though they lost, Nantahala were working as a unit and finished the game with 13 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Leading Blue Ridge Early College to victory were Eric Puskarich and Ethan Henson. Puskarich scored 23 points along with seven assists, while Henson scored 25 points along with nine rebounds. The contest was Puskarich's tenth in a row with at least ten points. Riley Nicholson was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with five rebounds.
Nantahala has not been sharp recently, as they've lost five of their last six matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-5 record this season. As for Blue Ridge Early College, their win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 2-8.
Nantahala will get a bit of extra time to process the loss as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on Murphy at 8:00 p.m. on January 9, 2024. Blue Ridge Early College will have some time to savor their victory since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Andrews at 7:30 p.m. on January 9, 2024.
