Even though the Hickory Grove Christian Lions scored an imposing 63 points on Friday, the Gaston Day Spartans still came out on top. Gaston Day strolled past Hickory Grove Christian with points to spare, taking the game 81-63. Given Gaston Day's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 103rd, while Hickory Grove Christian is ranked 420th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Gaston Day found their leader in underclassman Griffen Simpson, who scored 21 points along with five rebounds and two steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Simpson has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Gavin Fields, who scored 12 points along with six rebounds.
Hickory Grove Christian lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Kevin Powell, who scored 13 points along with six rebounds and two steals. Brent Banks was another key contributor, scoring 14 points along with five rebounds and three steals.
Even though they lost, Hickory Grove Christian were working as a unit and finished the game with 15 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Gaston Day's victory ended a five-game drought on the road and puts them at 14-8. As for Hickory Grove Christian, they are on a ten-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 4-16.
Gaston Day will be playing at home against Gaston Christian at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Hopefully Gaston Christian focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up seven on Friday. As for Hickory Grove Christian, they will head out on the road to challenge Westminster Catawba Christian at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The timing is sure in Westminster Catawba Christian's favor as the team sits on three straight wins at home while Hickory Grove Christian has been banged up by five consecutive losses on the road.
