Basketball Recap: Withrow Comes Up Short

Withrow played a tough match on Friday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They came up short against the Hughes BIG RED, falling 71-47. While losing is never fun, the Tigers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 388th, while the BIG RED are ranked 97th).

Hughes found their leader in freshman LeShawn Hill, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and ten assists. The game was Hill's seventh in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaylen Houston, who went 6 of 8 on his way to 15 points in addition to six rebounds and three steals.

Withrow has been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-8 record this season. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 55.5 points per game. As for Hughes, they are on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine matches, which provided a nice bump to their 10-4 record this season.

Withrow will have a little extra prep time after the defeat as they won't be playing again for a while. They'll take on Aiken at 7:30 p.m. on January 31st. Hughes has already played their next game, a 59-51 victory against Meadowdale on the 18th.