The crowd at Friday's non-league challenge between the Clifton Cubs (Clifton, TX) and the host Italy Gladiators (Italy, TX), observed Clifton's basketball team overcome Italy by a margin of 59-50.

The Cubs (15-6) will now prepare for their challenge against Perrin-Whitt (Perrin, TX). The Pirates come into the non-league challenge with a 16-5 record. In their last challenge, Perrin-Whitt defeated Varsity Opponent (, ), 66-58, in a non-league challenge.

In their next game, the Gladiators battle the Mildred Eagles (Corsicana, TX) in a 2A Region III District 18 challenge, on Tuesday, January 7. Italy will attempt to better on its 14-7 season record. The Eagles come into the challenge with a 9-7 record after their 73-32 league win over Hubbard (Hubbard, TX).