Basketball Recap: Braylon Ward's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Union over Clay-Battelle

Union came into this matchup off a tough 27-point loss last Friday. This time they kept things ultra-competitive, but unfortunately the final result was the same. They fell just short of the Clay-Battelle Cee-Bees by a score of 52-49 on Monday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Tigers have suffered since February 23, 2024.

Braylon Ward

Points

02/24/25 vs Clay-Battelle	18
02/21/25 @ Hampshire	22
02/19/25 vs Paw Paw	20

Several Tigers players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Braylon Ward, who dropped a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Ward's evening made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least 18 points. Corbin Streets was another key player, dropping a double-double with 11 points and 14 boards.

Even though they lost, Union smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in six consecutive matches.

Union now has a losing record of 8-9. As for Clay-Battelle, the win (which was their fourth in a row) raised their record to 15-6.

Coming up, Union won't have much time to rest: their next game is against East Hardy at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. East Hardy knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past three contests -- so hopefully Union likes a good challenge. As for Clay-Battelle, they are taking a road trip to square off against Trinity Christian at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Trinity Christian has been dominant on offense recently, having racked up an incredible 189 points over their last three matchups.