Basketball Recap: Axtell Takes a Loss

Axtell lost against Marlin back in January and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Tuesday. The Axtell Longhorns took a 56-51 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Marlin Bulldogs. While losing is never fun, the Longhorns can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 1173rd, while the Bulldogs are ranked 534th).

Marlin's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Aarik Smith-Shelley led the charge by putting up 18 points and seven rebounds. That's the most points Smith-Shelley has posted since back in January of 2024. Another player making a difference was Jaidan Womack, who earned 15 points and five boards.

Axtell now has a losing record at 7-8. As for Marlin, the win (which was their ninth in a row) raised their record to 16-4.

Axtell didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next matchup, a 61-28 victory against Riesel on the 31st. As for Marlin, they have also already played their next contest, a 2-0 win against Chilton on the 31st.