This season hasn't been kind to the Walnut Hills Eagles, who are still winless after their fourth matchup. They took a 62-52 hit to the loss column at the hands of Anderson on Tuesday. While losing is never fun, Walnut Hills can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 593rd, while Anderson is ranked 128th).
When it comes to explaining why Walnut Hills lost, one person who can't be blamed is Cj Claxton. Despite the final result, he scored 27 points along with five rebounds and three steals. Claxton scored a full 51.9% of Walnut Hills' points, the fourth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Ty Austin was another key contributor, scoring seven points along with three steals.
Anderson's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from A.J. Austin-Robinson, who scored 21 points along with nine rebounds. The game was Austin-Robinson's third in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Toby Strausbaugh, who scored 13 points along with nine rebounds.
Walnut Hills' loss dropped their record down to 0-4. As for Anderson, the win was the third in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 3-0.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Walnut Hills will face off against Kings at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Kings knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with flashy point totals in its past four matchups -- so hopefully Walnut Hills likes a good challenge. As for Anderson, they will head out on the road to face off against Loveland at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Loveland is out to stop a three-game streak of losses at home.
