LAURINBURG — The Pinecrest boys basketball team was in the driver’s seat for the entirety of the Patriots’ 66-27 win over Scotland on Friday.
The Patriots (13-2, 4-1 SAC) bolted out to a large lead and held the Scots (5-7, 2-2 SAC) to two second-quarter points. Pinecrest held a 42-11 lead at halftime, and Scotland couldn’t piece together a comeback attempt in the second half, scoring just three points in the third quarter. Part of the second half was played with a running clock because of the large deficit.
The Scots did find some momentum and outscored Pinecrest 13-7 in the fourth quarter. That effort was spearheaded by Mandrell Johnson, who scored all of his team-high eight points in the final period.
Poor shooting was an issue all night for the Scots. That included an 0-9 mark at the free throw line.
Pinecrest logged 10 3-pointers as a team.
Pinecrest’s Bradlee Haskell led all scorers with 15 points. Will Bode added nine points for the Patriots.
For the second straight game, Scotland was without perimeter threat C.J. Settles. The senior guard will be out for several weeks with a broken finger on his shooting hand.
Scotland will host rival Richmond next Friday. The Scots’ game at Lumberton originally scheduled for Tuesday has been moved to Jan. 30.
