The North Moore boys’ basketball team visited Albemarle Friday in the second of a four-game road trip.

The host Bulldogs are currently in third place in the Yadkin Valley Conference with only three losses. Meanwhile the young Mustangs are battling for a possible wildcard state playoff berth and a better seed in the upcoming conference tournament.

North Moore fought the talented Bulldogs on even terms in the middle two quarters, but the first and last periods doomed the Mustangs to their 10th conference loss. Albemarle took advantage of the Mustangs lack of scoring during the frames for a 69-38 victory.

The loss drops the Mustangs to 3-10 in league action and 3-15 overall, while Albemarle improves to 9-3 in conference play and 11-5 overall.

“The boys played hard and didn’t quit,” said North Moore coach Grant Smith. “I was pleased with the effort and I thought we did a good job of shutting down their point guard (Greg Childress) and holding him scoreless.”

Mustangs Denzell Herron and Quashan Davis took turns shadowing Childress on defense.

The Mustangs take a break now before resuming action Feb. 3 when they journey to Chatham Central.

The Bulldogs came out with full-court pressure on defense, forcing the Mustangs into numerous turnovers, which Albemarle took advantage of in racing to a 19-5 first-period lead. The Bulldogs also used their height advantage, getting many offensive rebounds for second-chance points.

With Justin Marley scoring seven points, the Mustangs actually outscored the Bulldogs in the second period 15-14, leaving Albemarle with a 33-20 lead at the break. Josh Lambert and Landon Auman added four points each for North Moore during the quarter.

North Moore continued to keep pace with Bulldogs in the third period before Albemarle went on a late scoring surge, giving the Bulldogs 18 third-period points while the Mustangs chalked up 13 points. The Bulldogs took a 51-33 lead into the final frame.

In the fourth quarter, the Mustangs once again struggled offensively as they managed only five points while Albemarle added 18 points for their final 31-point victory.

Auman was the Mustangs’ top scorer with 14 points, followed by Marley with 10 points. Deon Christian was the game’s top scorer with 17 points for the victors while teammate Lee Autry added 15 points, mostly off offensive rebounds.

North Moore 5 15 13 5 — 38

Albemarle 19 14 18 18 — 69

North Moore: Landon Auman 6 2-5 14; Justin Marley 4 0-0 10; Matt Spivey 1 0-0 3; Billy Person 1 0-1 2; Denzell Herron 1 0-0 2; Josh Lambert 2 0-2 4; Malik Chisholm 1 1-2 3. Totals 16 3-8 38. 3 pt. goals (Marley 2, Spivey 1).

Albemarle: Deon Christian 5 7-9 17; Lee Autry 7 1-2 15; Bryan Blanton 2 0-0 5; Marquez Brown 1 2-4 4; Wesley Deese 1 0-0 3; T’kyle Williams 6 0-0 12; Alvin Currie 1 1-2 3; Craig Lilly 1 0-0 2; Rashad Baldwin 0 1-2 1; Andre Ridenhour 3 0-0 7. Totals 27 12-19 69.

Three-point goals: NM 3 (Marley 2, Spivey 1); A 3 (Blanton 1, Deese 1, Ridenhour 1).