The Southwood Knights's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Friday after their third straight loss. They fell 77-67 to Maconaquah. While losing is never fun, Southwood can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 306th, while Maconaquah is ranked 104th).
Despite the loss, Southwood saw an underclassman step up: Bryce Wilcox dropped a double-double on 20 points and 26 rebounds. Wilcox has been hot recently, having posted 17 or more points the last five times he's played. Maddox Marshall was another key contributor, scoring 19 points along with six rebounds and three steals.
Southwood's lineup was just a bit different on Friday as Emery Liddick got a bit more time on the court (21 vs. his season average of 8.54). Liddick made the most of the opportunity, scoring four points along with four steals. A few more games like that and he might be seeing even more time going forward.
Even though they lost, Southwood smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 25 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Josiah Ball was his usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 30 points and ten rebounds for Maconaquah. Ball is crushing the point category: he's posted at least 16 every time he's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was AJ Kelly, who scored 15 points along with five rebounds and three steals.
Southwood dropped their record down to 4-13 with that loss, which was their seventh straight at home. As for Maconaquah, the victory was the third in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 13-4.
Southwood and Madison-Grant will face off at 7:30 p.m. on February 10th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Southwood is strutting with some offensive muscle, as they've averaged 56.7 points per game this season. As for Maconaquah, they will be playing at home against Northfield at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Maconaquah knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past 17 matches -- so hopefully Northfield likes a good challenge.
