Basketball Recap: Smiths Station Takes a Loss

On Saturday, the Smiths Station Panthers didn't have quite enough to beat the Walton Braves and fell 48-46. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as the Panthers came into the matchup with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 117th in Alabama, while the Braves are ranked 235th in Florida).

Smiths Station has been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 10-7 record this season. As for Walton, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 6-5.

Smiths Station will have a little extra prep time after the defeat as they won't be playing again for a while. They'll take on Auburn at 7:00 p.m. on January 7, 2025. As for Walton, they will finish 2024 at home by hosting Crestview at 2:00 p.m. on Monday. Walton has insisted on making their lastthree contests complete nail-biters, turning in a record of 2-1 during that stretch of close contests.