Basketball Recap: Sparta's Loss Ends Eight-Game Winning Streak at Home

Sparta entered their matchup against Carlyle on Friday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. The Sparta Bulldogs fell 68-58 to the Carlyle Indians/Lady Indians. Sadly, that's the second time they've come up short against the Bulldogs this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 69-35 back in December of 2024.

Several Bulldogs players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Damian Lanton, who went 5 for 11 en route to 12 points and five assists. DJ Hayes was another key player, going 5 of 10 on his way to 12 points in addition to six assists and three steals.

Sparta's defeat ended an eight-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 14-7. As for Carlyle, their record is now 18-5.

Sparta will challenge Anna-Jonesboro at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. Sparta is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 59 points per game this season. Carlyle has already played their next game (against Nashville), but no score has been uploaded at the time of writing.