Basketball Recap: Monday's Loss Ends Laurel's Winning Streak

Laurel easily dispatched Northwestern last Thursday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. The Laurel Spartans fell just short of the Wise Pumas by a score of 84-81 on Monday. The match was a 45-45 toss-up at halftime, but the Spartans couldn't quite close it out.

Laurel's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jermaine Taylor, who went 9 for 21 en route to 26 points in addition to seven boards and three steals. The game was Taylor's fourth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Amadou Kaloga, who went 8 of 16 on his way to 23 points.

Even though they lost, Laurel smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 24 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive boards they've posted since the start of last season.

Wise's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Jayson Frost, who went 7 for 8 en route to 21 points along with seven assists and three steals. The dominant performance gave Frost a new career-high in assists. Cayden Hargrove was another key player, going 8 of 10 on his way to 19 points in addition to six rebounds and six blocks.

The defeat snapped Laurel's winning streak at five games and leaves them with a 9-2 record. As for Wise, they pushed their record up to 11-2 with the win, which was their 12th straight on the road dating back to last season.

Laurel didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, an 87-51 victory against Parkdale on the 28th. Wise has also already played their next matchup, a 95-54 win against High Point on the 28th.