After having lost a blowout in their previous game against Hiwassee Dam, Copper Basin was happy to have turned things around on Thursday. They had just enough and edged out the Nantahala Hawks 72-69. The high-flying offensive performance was a huge turnaround for the Cougars considering their 29-point performance the contest before.
Nantahala's loss came despite strong showings from Samuel Bateman and Landon Neal. Bateman shot 50% from the field on his way to 21 points and three steals, while Neal went 8-for-11 en route to 20 points. The matchup was Bateman's sixth in a row with at least 15 points.

vs

| 12/04/25 - Home | 72-69 W |
| 01/21/25 - Away | 81-91 L |
| 11/19/24 - Home | 71-67 W |
| 11/16/23 - Home | 71-34 W |
| 11/21/19 - Home | 67-31 W |
| + 5 more games |
Copper Basin's first victory this season bumped their record up to 1-6. As for Nantahala, the loss snapped their winning streak at four games and leaves them with a 5-2 record.
Looking ahead, Copper Basin will challenge Polk County at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. As for Nantahala, they have already played their next game, a 71-35 defeat against Cherokee on the 5th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps