Basketball Recap: Josh Cundiff's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Taft over Shafter

Taft was the 53-29 winner over Shafter when they last played one another back in January of 2024, but their luck changed this time around. The Taft Wildcats fell to the Shafter Generals 61-57.

Taft lost on Friday despite a true team effort on offense, the best among them being Josh Cundiff, who went 11 for 14 en route to 24 points. Those 24 points gave Cundiff a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Nick Andrade, who almost dropped a double-double on 12 points and nine boards.

Even though they lost, Taft smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in six consecutive matchups.

Taft now has a losing record at 8-9. As for Shafter, their win was their first in the league, bumping their league record up to 1-2 and their overall record up to 4-7.

Taft wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next game, a 68-46 victory against Wasco on the 14th. Shafter has also already played their next contest, a 43-38 win against Kennedy on the 14th.