The Pinecrest Patriots will square off against the E.E. Smith Golden Bulls at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Pinecrest has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.
Pinecrest is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They fell 58-53 to Uwharrie Charter Academy on Wednesday.
Pinecrest might have lost, but man, Kennedy Moore was a machine: she went 9-for-22 en route to 28 points in addition to seven steals and six assists. That was a full 52.8% of the Patriots' points, marking the third time in a row Moore has posted more than a third of the team's points. Amoni Goins was another key player, putting up 11 points and three steals.
Meanwhile, E.E. Smith put another one in the bag on Thursday to keep their perfect season alive. They claimed a resounding 61-19 victory over Cape Fear. The contest marked the Golden Bulls' most dominant win of the season so far.
E.E. Smith's win came from a few key players Pinecrest will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Azariah Brunson, who earned ten points and five steals. She has been hot for a while, having posted two or more steals the last 19 times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Trinity Patterson, who shot 56% from the field on her way to 12 points and three steals.
E.E. Smith smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 20 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in 22 consecutive games dating back to last season.
E.E. Smith's victory bumped their record up to 5-0. As for Pinecrest, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-3.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Pinecrest has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 29 boards per game. However, it's not like E.E. Smith struggles in that department as they've been averaging 33.2 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
