Basketball Recap: Make It Three in a Row for Aiken

Aiken waltzed into their match on Wednesday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They walked away with a 72-61 victory over the South Aiken Thoroughbreds. The Fighting Green Hornets have seen this before: they got the W the last time they saw the Thoroughbreds, too.

Julian Graham

Points

11/22/24 vs Rock Hill	25
01/29/25 vs South Aiken	23
12/17/24 vs Gilbert	20
12/06/24 @ Fox Creek	18
11/23/24 vs Lakeside	16

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Aiken to victory, but perhaps none more so than Julian Graham, who went 8 for 12 on his way to 23 points. That's the most points Graham has posted since back in November of 2024. Tre'Von Walker was another key player, going 6 of 15 en route to 19 points along with five boards and three steals.

Aiken smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in six consecutive games.

Several Thoroughbreds players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Deon Simpkins, who went 8 for 19 on his way to 19 points and six assists. Simpkins is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last five games he's played. Another player making a difference was Kyson McLeod, who went 7 of 13 en route to 15 points in addition to eight rebounds and five assists.

The win got Aiken back to even at 10-10. As for South Aiken, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost six of their last seven contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-14 record this season.

Aiken will venture away from home to face off against North Augusta at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Aiken knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past three matchups -- so hopefully North Augusta likes a good challenge. As for South Aiken, they will host Gilbert at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. South Aiken is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 51.2 points per game this season.