The Hawthorne Cougars fought the good fight in their overtime contest against the Centennial Apaches on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Apaches by a score of 67-65. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Hawthorne in their matchups with the Apaches: they've now lost four in a row.
Hawthorne's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jakobi Smith, who scored 21 points. Smith is trending in the right direction, as he's improved his point production for three games straight. Harin Patel was another key contributor, scoring 21 points.
Hawthorne has not been sharp recently as the team's lost six of their last seven matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-15 record this season. As for Centennial, their victory ended a four-game drought at home and bumped them up to 3-16.
Hawthorne will take on the Sentinels at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Inglewood presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than the Cougars in California (the Sentinels are ranked 491st, while the Cougars are ranked 1039th). As for Centennial, they will head out on the road to face off against the Normans at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.
