Basketball Recap: Taft Gets the Win
By Team Reports
Jan 7, 2026, 5:17am
Basketball Recap: Taft Senators vs. Walnut Ridge Scots
It may have taken overtime to finish the job, but Taft ultimately got the result they hoped for on Saturday. They slipped by the Walnut Ridge Scots 87-86. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Senators have posted since December 22, 2024.
Loss or not, Walnut Ridge got some senior leadership from Lee'Sean Saunders and Marquis Lucas. Saunders almost dropped a double-double with 31 points and nine boards, while Lucas dropped a double-double with 21 points and 16 rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Saunders has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Maurice Hamrick, Jr., who shot 56% from the field en route to 15 points.

Senators
| 01/03/26 vs Walnut Ridge | 87-86 |
| 12/22/25 vs Waggener | 88-78 |
| 12/20/25 vs Community Christian Academy | 90-68 |
The win was the third in a row for Taft, bringing their record up to 7-1. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 88.3 points over those games. As for Walnut Ridge, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 4-6.
Coming up, Taft will be playing in front of their home fans against Aiken at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. As for Walnut Ridge, they didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next matchup, a 73-61 win against South on the 6th.
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