The Hammond Central Wolves pushed their score all the way to 59 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell to Gary West Side 65-59. While losing is never fun, Hammond Central can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 174th, while Gary West Side is ranked 43rd).
When it comes to explaining why Hammond Central lost, one person who can't be blamed is Gregory Dotson. Despite the final result, he scored 27 points along with 8 rebounds. Dotson scored a full 45.8% of Hammond Central's points, the second time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Da'shawn Woods, who scored 12 points along with 8 rebounds and 5 assists.
Hammond Central now has a losing record at 2-3. As for Gary West Side, their win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 5-1.
Hammond Central will head out on the road to face off against Michigan City at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. Michigan City has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 201 points over their last three matches. Gary West Side will be home for the holidays to greet Mishawaka Marian at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.
