Basketball Recap: Leland Johnson's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Hawthorne over Williston

If Hawthorne was riding high fresh off their 55-35 takedown of Chiefland last Thursday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Hawthorne Hornets took a 66-54 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Williston Red Devils on Friday. The result was an unpleasant reminder to the Hornets of the 61-49 loss they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in December of 2023.

Hawthorne lost despite a true team effort on offense, the best among them being Leland Johnson, who went 8 for 13 on his way to 19 points and three steals. Dacarion Debose was another key player, going 6 of 11 en route to 15 points along with six assists and three steals.

Hornets

Assists

01/17/25 @ Williston	13
01/16/25 @ Chiefland	10
01/14/25 vs Eastside	10
01/10/25 @ Dunnellon	10
01/11/25 @ Santa Fe	6

Even though they lost, Hawthorne was working as a unit and finished the game with 13 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

De'Andre Harvey was his usual excellent self, almost dropping a double-double on 27 points and nine boards for Williston. The match was Harvey's 17th in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Adam Henderson, who went 5 for 7 on his way to 13 points and eight rebounds.

Hawthorne's record now sits at 8-2. As for Williston, they pushed their record up to 13-8 with the win, which was their 16th straight at home dating back to last season.

Hawthorne has already played their next game, a 71-63 victory against Lakeland on the 20th. As for Williston, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 47-45 defeat against Newberry on the 24th.