Basketball Recap: St. Pauls Drops Season-High Score on Lakewood

Bulldogs

Team Score

01/18/25 vs Lakewood	71
01/17/25 vs Fairmont	63
12/27/24 vs Western Harnett	59
12/17/24 @ Red Springs	51
12/02/24 vs South Columbus	49

St. Pauls scored the most points they've had this season on Saturday, but it wasn't enough. They fell 82-71 to the Lakewood Leopards. While losing is never fun, the Bulldogs can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 524th, while the Leopards are ranked 208th).

St. Pauls lost despite a true team effort on offense, the best among them being Tykeem Oxendine, who posted 15 points. That's the most points Oxendine has posted since back in February of 2024. Another player making a difference was Jakhi Purcell, who put up 14 points.

Lakewood was led to victory by Xavier Hall and Cameron Williams. Hall dropped a double-double on 27 points and 16 rebounds, while Williams went 11 of 14 on his way to 29 points and eight boards. Hall is crushing it when it comes to rebounds: he's pulled down at least nine every time he's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Juan Parker Jr., who went 6 for 7 en route to 12 points in addition to seven boards and four steals.

St. Pauls' loss was their fifth straight at home, which dropped their record down to 3-12. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 51.2 points per game. As for Lakewood, the win (which was their 11th in a row) raised their record to 11-1.

St. Pauls will have a little extra prep time after the defeat as they won't be playing again for a while. They'll take on Midway at 7:30 p.m. on January 28th. St. Pauls has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games. As for Lakewood, they didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next matchup, a 66-64 victory against Hobbton on the 27th.