The Hardaway Hawks lost against the Cairo Syrupmakers on January 5th, and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Friday. Hardaway took a 60-50 hit to the loss column at the hands of Cairo. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest points Hardaway has scored all season.
Despite the loss, Hardaway still got an impressive performance from Mekhi Benton, who scored 16 points along with six steals. Benton is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 15 or more in the last three games he's played. Johnathan Kyles was another key contributor, scoring ten points along with five rebounds.
It was another big night for Amari Powell, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 13 rebounds for Cairo. Powell is trending in the right direction, as he's improved his point production for five games straight. The team also got some help courtesy of Jykortnee Brown, who scored 14 points along with five assists.
Hardaway's defeat dropped their record down to 12-9. As for Cairo, they are on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last ten games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-8 record this season.
Hardaway won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Northside at 2:30 p.m. on January 27th. Northside will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Georgia Rankings (they are ranked 424th, while Hardaway is ranked 130th). As for Cairo, they will look to defend their home court on Friday against Westover at 6:00 p.m.
