There's no place like home for the Belfry Pirates, who bounced back after a tough loss on the road last Saturday. They strolled past Grundy with points to spare on Thursday, taking the game 66-52. Given Belfry's advantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 137th in Kentucky, while Grundy is ranked 285th in Virginia), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Belfry had a senior duo take command as Makaden Maynard dropped a double-double on 15 points and 14 rebounds and Eric Daniels scored 17 points along with nine rebounds and three steals. That makes it four consecutive games in which Daniels has scored at least 25% of Belfry's points. Carter Jude was another key contributor, scoring 14 points.
Several Golden Wave players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Landon Johnson, who scored 21 points along with five rebounds. Another player making a difference was Caleb Conaway, who scored six points along with ten rebounds and five steals.
Belfry now has a winning record of 3-2. As for Grundy, their loss dropped their record down to 5-4.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Belfry won't have much time to rest: their next game is against Whitley County at 5:00 p.m. on December 22nd. One thing working in Whitley County's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last eight contests. Grundy will get a bit of extra time to process the loss as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on Holston at 7:30 p.m. on January 3, 2024.