The Hilliard Red Flashes waltzed into their game Saturday with four straight wins but they left with five. They put the hurt on Charlton County with a sharp 72-51 win. Given Hilliard's advantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 116th in Florida, while Charlton County is ranked 364th in Georgia), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for CJ Hall, who scored 20 points along with seven rebounds and four blocks. The game was his fifth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Malcom Warthen, who scored 11 points along with six assists and five rebounds.
Charlton County lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Omari Wilson, who scored nine points. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Wilson has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Ja'mari Hamilton, who scored 12 points.
Hilliard pushed their record up to 12-2 with that win, which was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 66.8 points per game. As for Charlton County, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 6-6.
Hilliard will head out on the road to face off against West Nassau at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. As for Charlton County, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Turner County at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Turner County knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with flashy point totals in its past three games -- so hopefully Charlton County likes a good challenge.
