The Pinecrest Patriots lost to the Clayton Comets back in December of 2022, but the Pinecrest Patriots didn't allow the Clayton Comets the same satisfaction on Wednesday. Pinecrest came out on top against Clayton by a score of 58-50. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Pinecrest.
Javion Saunders continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, scoring 24 points. That's the first time this season that he scored 15 or more points. Elijah Melton was another key contributor, scoring 11 points.
Clayton's loss came despite strong showings from Andrew Grimes and Justice Mitchell . Grimes dropped a double-double on 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Mitchell scored 16 points along with eight rebounds. Mitchell scored a full 32% of Clayton's points, the fourth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Cameron Tucker , who scored six points.
Even though they lost, Clayton were smashing the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Pinecrest's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 4-2. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.7 points per game. As for Clayton, their loss dropped their record down to 2-2.
Pinecrest will head out on the road to face off against Lumberton at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday. Clayton will be home for the holidays to greet Willow Spring at 7:45 p.m. on Friday. Willow Spring is coming into the matchup on a four-game losing streak.
