The Swansboro Pirates had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 21.6 points), and they went ahead and made it six on Tuesday. The stars were shining brightly for them in a 91-77 win over Jacksonville. Given Swansboro's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 50th, while Jacksonville is ranked 305th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Swansboro's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Jonah Holt, who scored 20 points along with seven rebounds and seven steals. Those seven steals set a new season-high mark for him. Another player making a difference was Jacob Nagler, who scored 21 points along with five assists.
Several Cardinals players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Ra-Shawn Echols, who scored 15 points along with five rebounds and four steals. Echols is absolutely dominating the point category: he's posted at least 15 every time he's taken the court this season. Amaree Barber was another key contributor, scoring 18 points along with eight rebounds.
Swansboro pushed their record up to 7-1 with that win, which was their third straight on the road. They've been dominating during the matches in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 26.33 points. As for Jacksonville, they now have a losing record at 3-4.
Swansboro will be staying on the road on Wednesday to face off against Northside - Jacksonville at 4:30 p.m. on December 27th. Northside - Jacksonville comes in still looking for their first win of the season. As for Jacksonville, they will head out on the road to face off against Pamlico County at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Pamlico County has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last five games.
