Basketball Recap: Motivation Falls Despite Big Games from Amari Gadson and Chace White

While it was all tied up 30-30 at halftime, Motivation was not quite Abraham Lincoln's equal in the second half on Friday. They lost 79-59 to the Abraham Lincoln Railsplitters. The Jaguars were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Railsplitters apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in December of 2016.

Motivation's loss came despite strong showings from Chace White and Amari Gadson. White went 10 of 17 on his way to 26 points along with six boards and three steals, while Gadson went 8 of 19 en route to 19 points. That was a full 44.1% of Motivation's points, marking the fourth time in a row he's posted more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Divevea Smith, who had five points.

Dajon Smith was nothing short of spectacular for Abraham Lincoln: he put up 22 points. The dominant performance gave Smith a new career-high in points. Another player making a difference was Miguel Rosa Jr, who posted 14 points.

Motivation has traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-4-1 record this season. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.0 points per game. As for Abraham Lincoln, with the win, they broke their three-game losing streak and moved their record to 2-5.

Motivation won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Henderson at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. Motivation is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 52.6 points per game this season. As for Abraham Lincoln, they will also get right back to it: they'll challenge High School of the Future at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. High School of the Future will roll in looking for their eighth straight victory, something Abraham Lincoln surely won't give up without a fight.