The Smoky Mountain Mustangs's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Tuesday after their fourth straight loss. They fell just short of Pisgah by a score of 81-79. Smoky Mountain has struggled against Pisgah recently, as their game on Tuesday was their eighth consecutive lost matchup.
Smoky Mountain lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Custer Prenger, who dropped a double-double on 24 points and 13 rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Prenger has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Ben Brown, who scored 24 points.
Even though they lost, Smoky Mountain smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. This was only their 11th loss (out of 15 games) when they hit their own glass that hard.
Sawyer Belue was his usual excellent self, scoring 27 points along with five steals for Pisgah. Another player making a difference was Dominick Messer, who scored 14 points along with seven rebounds and three steals.
Smoky Mountain has not been sharp recently, as they've lost six of their last seven matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-15 record this season. As for Pisgah, their victory bumped their record up to 11-6.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Smoky Mountain will take on North Henderson at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. North Henderson presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than Smoky Mountain in North Carolina (North Henderson is ranked 131st, while Smoky Mountain is ranked 512th). As for Pisgah, they will head out on the road to square off against Franklin at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
