Basketball Recap: Amir Tate's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Hobbton over Lakewood

Hobbton lost against Lakewood back in February of 2024 and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Monday. The Hobbton Wildcats fell just short of the Lakewood Leopards by a score of 66-64. While losing is never fun, the Wildcats can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 531st, while the Leopards are ranked 208th).

Hobbton lost despite a true team effort on offense, the best among them being Amir Tate, who posted 16 points. Deonte Darden was another key player, putting up 15 points.

Lakewood was led to victory by Xavier Hall and Cameron Williams. Hall dropped a double-double on 28 points and 17 boards, while Williams dropped a double-double on 18 points and 13 rebounds. With that strong performance, Hall is now averaging an impressive 15.8 points per game.

Hobbton has traveled a rocky road recently having lost seven of their last nine matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-9 record this season. As for Lakewood, the victory (which was their 12th in a row) raised their record to 12-1.

Hobbton won't have much time to rest: their next game is against North Duplin at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. As for Lakewood, they also won't have to wait long for more action: they'll take on Rosewood at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Lakewood is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 62.9 points per game this season.