Basketball Recap: John Newton's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Fort Bend Willowridge over Dayton

Fort Bend Willowridge's tournament run continued when they took on Dayton on Friday. The Fort Bend Willowridge Eagles received a blow as they fell 79-61 to the Dayton Broncos. While losing is never fun, the Eagles can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 1182nd, while the Broncos are ranked 568th).

Fort Bend Willowridge's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was John Newton, who went 6 for 13 on his way to 15 points and five steals. Ernest Hampton was another key player, going 7 of 12 on his way to 19 points.

Fort Bend Willowridge has been struggling recently as they've lost five of their last six matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-9 record this season. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.5 points per game. As for Dayton, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 9-6.

Fort Bend Willowridge has already played their next game, a 54-48 defeat against Benjamin Davis on the 13th. As for Dayton, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 54-47 win against International Leadership of Texas Katy Westpark on the 14th.