While the Palisades Pumas couldn't quite beat the South Mecklenburg Sabres on Friday, the three-point margin was a huge improvement compared to the 36-point defeat they were dealt last Tuesday. Palisades fell just short of the Sabres by a score of 52-49. While losing is never fun, Palisades can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 126th, while the Sabres are ranked 35th).
Several Pumas players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Kingston Henry, who scored 14 points along with seven assists. Jyler Standifer was another key contributor, scoring 12 points.
Peter Moye was his usual excellent self, scoring 19 points along with seven rebounds for South Mecklenburg. Another player making a difference was Yariel Chudgar, who scored six points along with four steals.
This is the second loss in a row for Palisades and nudges their season record down to 12-9. As for South Mecklenburg, they pushed their record up to 18-3 with that win, which was their third straight on the road.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Palisades' homestand continues as they prepare to take on the Trojans at 7:30 p.m. on February 6th. Olympic has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last four games. As for South Mecklenburg, they will be playing in front of their home fans against the Mavericks at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
