Basketball Recap: George Walton Academy Takes Loss Despite Strong Performances from Tiedrell Ansley and Jaylen Alston-Taylor

George Walton Academy was not able to break out of their rough patch on Saturday as the team picked up their fifth straight defeat. They opened the new year with a less-than-successful 62-52 loss to the Stratford Academy Eagles. While losing is never fun, the Bulldogs can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Georgia basketball rankings (they are ranked 431st, while the Eagles are ranked 203rd).

Jaylen Alston-Taylor and Tiedrell Ansley certainly did their best on Saturday to avoid the loss. Alston-Taylor went 6 of 7 en route to 14 points and six rebounds, while Ansley posted 13 points along with eight boards and five assists. That's the most boards Ansley has posted since back in November of 2023. The team also got some help courtesy of Jacob Groome, who had seven points.

Frankie Raines Jr continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines for Stratford Academy, dropping a double-double on 29 points and 13 rebounds. The game was Raines Jr's sixth in a row with at least ten points. Tyler Burnett was another key player, going 5 of 9 on his way to 14 points.

George Walton Academy's defeat dropped their record down to 2-8. As for Stratford Academy, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last nine matches, which provided a nice bump to their 11-4 record this season.

George Walton Academy wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next contest, a 57-50 victory against Loganville Christian Academy on the 7th. As for Stratford Academy, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 56-47 win against John Milledge Academy on the 7th.