Basketball Recap: Deposit-Hancock Falls Despite Big Games from Blake Fortunato and Micah Simmons

Deposit-Hancock has been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They took a hard 85-71 fall against the Sidney Team on Thursday. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as Deposit-Hancock came into the match with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' New York basketball rankings (they are ranked 253rd, while Sidney is ranked 531st).

Micah Simmons and Blake Fortunato certainly did their best on Thursday to avoid the loss. Simmons dropped a double-double on 22 points and 17 boards, while Fortunato went 13 of 23 on his way to 34 points along with six rebounds and three steals. Fortunato's evening made it nine games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jacoby Mapes, who posted three points and ten rebounds.

Even though they lost, Deposit-Hancock smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in six consecutive games.

Deposit-Hancock's defeat dropped their record down to 6-3. As for Sidney, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 3-5.

Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Deposit-Hancock will square off against Harpursville at 7:15 p.m. on Monday. One thing working in Deposit-Hancock's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points every time they've taken the court this season. As for Sidney, they will get to enjoy the win for a while: their next game is against Chenango Forks at 7:15 p.m. on January 21st.