A technical fouled called against the Mustang bench about midway through the first period marked the start of a sharp descent that ended in a resounding 85-20 Patriot victory.
Keith Core scored 13 points and Marcus McLean had 11 as the Patriots (2-0) successfully defended their 2004 Pilot Cup title. Ryan Galbreith of the Patriots was named the MVP of the tournament after scoring 25 points in Saturday’s win over Union Pines and adding six more against the Mustangs.
The Mustangs (1-1) were led by Kirk Williams with seven points.
Afterward, Mustang coach Chris Coble was feeling badly for his players who got off to a positive start for the season with Saturday’s first round win over O’Neal.
“There’s a difference between 4-A and 1-A basketball and we knew that,” Coble said. “We don’t see that kind of quickness and we could never get into an offensive rhythm. We’re a better team than we showed. I just want to make sure we don’t carry this to 1-A.”
North Moore has an enrollment of less than 600, while Pinecrest has over 1,800 students.
Dalewyn Spinks made a layup off the opening tip for the only Mustang lead of the night. McLean scored seven of the first eight Patriot points, carving out an 8-4 lead. Then came the technical foul that seemed to precipitate the Mustang slide. By halftime the Patriots led 47-12.
With Donte Henderson, Jonathan Galberth and Core smothering defense creating a lot of havoc for the Mustangs, the Patriots continued to roll in the second half. Before it was over, 12 Patriots got into the scoring column.
“I thought our guys played aggressively and our defense created a lot of our opportunities,” Patriot coach Mike Apple said. “What you saw in these two games was a senior-laden team that’s ahead of the others right now.”
Apple was already thinking about this coming Tuesday when his team has a date at Western Harnett. It will be his first meeting against the team he coached for five years before coming to Pinecrest in 2003. The Mustangs travel to Union Pines on Tuesday.
“We would have liked to gauge ourselves a little bit,” Coble said, “but I’m not sure we can gauge ourselves based on what happened tonight.”
North Moore 7 5 7 1 — 20
Pinecrest 23 24 26 12 — 85
North Moore — Spinks 2 1-2 5, Williams 2 3-5 7, Maness 0 1-2 1, Phillips 1 0-0 2, Montjoy 0 1-2 1, Chandler 1 0-0 2, R. Brower 1 0-0 2, Latham 0 0-0 0, M. Brower 0 0-0 0, Simmons 0 0-0 0, Morris 0 0-0 0. Totals 7 6-11 20.
Pinecrest — Henderson 0 0-0 0, McDonald 4 0-0 9, McLean 4 2-2 11, Eddy 4 0-0 8, Hargrove 2 1-3 5, Galbreith 3 0-0 6, Pride 3 0-0 6, Core 5 3-5 13, Galberth 1 6-6 8, Stout 0 0-0 0, Wooten 3 0-0 6, Perry 1 2-2 4, McDouglad 1 0-0 2, Thomas 3 0-0 6. Totals 34 15-19 85.
Three-point goals: North Moore 0; Pinecrest 2 (McLean, McDonald).
