The Hamilton Wildcats suffered their closest defeat since November 22, 2023 on Monday. They fell just short of Melrose by a score of 70-67. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Despite the loss, Hamilton had strong showings from Timothy Matthews, who scored 19 points along with eight rebounds and three blocks, and Devan McGee, who scored 24 points along with six rebounds. Matthews is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as he's now pulled down eight or more in the last four games he's played. Another player making a difference was Rodney Mcneal, who scored 13 points.
Devin Sanders Jr was his usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 22 points and 18 rebounds for Melrose. Sanders Jr is crushing the rebound category: he's posted at least ten every time he's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaylen Cooley, who scored 15 points along with two steals.
This is the second loss in a row for Hamilton and nudges their season record down to 8-14. As for Melrose, they are on a roll lately: they've won 14 of their last 16 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 17-6 record this season.
Hamilton will head out on the road to challenge the Cougars at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Kirby's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last six games. As for Melrose, they won't have much time to rest: their next match is against the Knights at 7:30 p.m. on January 30th. Hopefully Power Center Academy focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 21 last Saturday.
