With the regular season entering its final two weeks of action, the young North Moore boys’ basketball team is vying not only for a better seed for the upcoming Yadkin Valley Conference tournament, but gaining valuable experience for next season.

The Mustangs traveled to Chatham Central Friday against the Bears, who have nearly wrapped up the league’s number four seed. The visiting Mustangs struggled with shooting and handling the different defenses Chatham Central threw at them.

After struggling for the first three quarters, North Moore found some offense and trimmed the Bears’ lead to 10 points in the final frame. But the Mustangs could never get any closer as Chatham Central held on for a 51-40 victory.

The loss drops the Mustangs to 3-11 in conference action and 3-16 overall while the Bears improve to 9-6 in league play and 12-10 overall.

The Mustangs try to get back on the winning track when they travel to West Montgomery Tuesday. The Mustangs nearly knocked off the Warriors in their first meeting back in January.

“When you’re as young as we are, you don’t know which team will show up,” said North Moore coach Grant Smith. “Also when you’re young sometimes it’s going to show, and we struggled offensively. I saw some good things that we can build on. One of the things we wanted to concentrate on was stopping number 10 (Zach Burke), he killed us last time we played.”

Both teams got off to a slow start as both defenses were creating problems for the other team’s offense. With the Bears’ Burke scoring five points, Chatham Central took a 9-7 lead at the end of the opening period. Justin Marley scored all seven of the Mustangs’ first-quarter points.

The Bears got their offense in gear in the second period as they doubled up the Mustangs, outscoring them 14-7 for a 23-14 halftime advantage.

The Bears continued to build on their lead in the third quarter, posting 17 points while holding the Mustangs to nine for a 40-23 lead heading into the final frame.

With the Mustangs looking at a 17-point deficit, they started to comeback by using turnovers on defense that they converted into buckets. North Moore went on an 11-4 run to start the fourth period.

Marley started the run with a basket, followed by back-to-back buckets from Landon Auman. After Quashan Davis connected on a pair of free throws, freshman Matt Spivey hit a trey from the top of the key, pulling his team within 10 points at 44-34.

However, the two teams swapped points over the final 3:15, giving the Bears the 51-40 victory. Marley was the lone Mustang in double figures with 17 points, while Auman added eight and Adam Bullard six. Burke was the game’s top scorer with 21 points, including going 11 for 11 at the charity stripe.

North Moore 7 7 9 17 — 40

Chatham Central 9 14 17 11 — 51

North Moore: Justin Marley 6 5-7 17; Landon Auman 4 0-3 8; Adam Bullard 2 2-2 6; Matt Spivey 1 0-0 3; Dustin Morrison 1 0-2 3; Quashan Davis 0 3-4 3. Totals 14 10-18 40. 3 pt goals 2 (Spivey 1, Morrison 1).

Chatham Central: Zack Burke 5 11-11 21; LaQuill Mordecia 4 1-3 9; Josh Edwards 3 0-0 6; Conner Fewell 2 1-2 5; Jordan Goodwin 1 2-2 4; Jared Jordan 1 2-2 4; Ethan Moody 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 17-20 51.

Three-point goals: NM 2 (Spivey, Morrison)