With a playoff game on the line, the Fairmont Golden Tornadoes rose to the challenge on Tuesday. They came out on top against the Panthers by a score of 60-47. Given Fairmont's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 78th, while Granville Central is ranked 217th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Fairmont's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Josiah Billings, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 15 rebounds. Billings is on a roll when it comes to blocks, as he's now posted two or more in the last nine games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Landon Cummings, who scored 13 points along with eight rebounds and two steals.
Loss or not, Granville Central got some senior leadership from Jordan Alston and Trent Harrington. Alston scored 13 points along with six rebounds and four steals, while Harrington. dropped a double-double on 12 points and 12 rebounds. Alston also posted two blocks for the first time this season. Another player making a difference was Donovan Yancey, who scored eight points.
Fairmont is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine contests, which provided a nice bump to their 20-5 record this season. As for Granville Central, they dropped their record down to 17-9 with that loss, which was their fourth straight on the road.
Fairmont will challenge West Bladen at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. West Bladen is strutting with some offensive muscle, as they've averaged 54.9 points per game this season. Granville Central does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
