Basketball Recap: Jaiden Arnold's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Aiken over Trotwood-Madison

Aiken easily dispatched Mt. Healthy last Tuesday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. The Aiken Falcons fell just short of the Trotwood-Madison Rams by a score of 78-76 on Thursday. The matchup was a 36-36 toss-up at halftime, but the Falcons couldn't quite close it out.

Jaiden Arnold

Points

02/13/25 @ Trotwood-Madison	28
02/11/25 vs Mt. Healthy	26
02/07/25 @ Taft	19
02/01/25 @ Woodford County	18
01/31/25 @ Withrow	8
+ 20 more games

Aiken lost despite a true team effort on offense. The best among them was Jaiden Arnold, who went 11-for-21 on his way to 28 points along with five rebounds and three steals. That's the most points he has posted since back in February of 2024. James Burnett Jr. was another key player, going 11-for-19 en route to 23 points and five assists.

Trotwood-Madison's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jermiel Atkins, who dropped a double-double with 15 points and 11 boards. The game was Atkins' third in a row with at least 15 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Darius Dennis, who went 8-for-12 to rack up 19 points and seven rebounds.

Having lost for the first time this season, Aiken fell to 21-1. As for Trotwood-Madison, the win (which was their 13th in a row) raised their record to 20-2.

Aiken does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Trotwood-Madison, they will challenge Greenville at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.