Basketball Recap: Ty Stephens 6'1 165Lbs' Big Game Can't Quite Lead Nitro over Parkersburg

Nitro entered their contest against Parkersburg on Friday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. The Nitro Wildcats fell just short of the Parkersburg Big Reds by a score of 82-79. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game last Monday (57), the Wildcats still had to take the loss.

Nitro lost despite a true team effort on offense. The best among them was Ty Stephens 6'1 165Lbs, who went 6-for-11 from beyond the arc to rack up 26 points. Ashton Crouch was another key player, shooting 83% from the field on his way to 23 points and seven rebounds.

Even though they lost, Nitro was working as a unit and finished the game with 26 assists. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now racked up at least 20 assists in three consecutive matchups.

Parkersburg's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Nate Rodriguez led the charge by dropping a double-double with 16 points and 11 assists. Another player making a difference was Chandler Jackson, who went 6-for-10 en route to 15 points along with eight boards and three steals.

Nitro suffered their first home defeat, dropping their record down to 15-5. As for Parkersburg, their victory ended a five-game drought on the road and puts them at 8-14.

Nitro has already played their next game, a 45-39 loss against Fairmont Senior on the 1st. As for Parkersburg, they will square off against Cabell Midland at 7:00 p.m. on March 7th.