Page Men’s Basketball has found success early in the season this year, posting a winning record of 3-2 five games in. Beginning the season with two consecutive wins against the Lexington Yellow Jackets and another at Dudley, the Pirates briefly started the season with an undefeated record of 3-0. However, the Pirates took their first loss this past Friday in a back and forth game against South Granville, with the Vikings escaping the gym with a meager one point edge over the Pirates, the final score being 50-49. Unfortunately, this trend continued last night with the Pirates dropping another game to the East Forsyth Eagles in Kernersville, losing 54-49.
The Pirates are led this season by both seniors and star standouts, possessing talent at the guard position with Jaden Ellis, a sophomore averaging eighteen points and six assists a game. His best game scoring wise was in the loss against South Granville, posting an impressive 20 points and shooting a perfect 100% from the free-throw line with nine makes. Consistency is brought to the team with senior forward Dashaun Ballard, who is shooting a team best 55% from the field(among players who have taken more than one shot) and averaging 12 points and nine rebounds. Ballard’s best game was in the latter match against Lexington Senior, shooting 75% and ending the game with a double-double of sixteen points and ten rebounds. Also in the mix of standouts is Mike Maxwell, who helps space the floor through his ability to shoot from deep. Maxwell had his best game in the season opener against Lexington Senior, dropping a team-high 24 points, shooting 75% from the three point line with three makes.
The Men’s Basketball team plays next at Northern Guilford on Friday at 6:00 against the
1-2 Nighthawks. Statistically, the Pirates eclipse the Nighthawks in all the major five categories(points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks per game), foreshadowing a solid win. Additionally, the Nighthawks have a tendency to lose games by large margins, losing by an average of 28 points. As long as the Pirates can keep their foot on the gas the whole game and build up a lead, there’s no reason to think this game won’t be another win for the Pirates.