Basketball Recap: Walnut Ridge Takes a Loss

After a string of four wins, Walnut Ridge's good fortune finally ran out on Friday. They were just a bucket shy of victory and fell 58-57 to the Africentric Early College Nubians. The Scots were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Nubians apparently hadn't forgotten their defeat the last time these teams played back in January.

Walnut Ridge's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Marquis Lucas, who went 6 of 12 on his way to 15 points and three steals. Lucas has been hot, having posted two or more steals the last seven times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Jahleel Wakeel, who posted eight points and five assists.

Even though they lost, Walnut Ridge smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in seven consecutive matches.

Walnut Ridge's defeat was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 3-1 and their overall record down to 5-2. As for Africentric Early College, the victory was the sixth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 6-1.

Walnut Ridge wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next contest, a 68-62 loss against Marysville on the 21st. As for Africentric Early College, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 61-42 win against Thomas Worthington on the 21st.