It's hard to turn regular season success into postseason wins, a fact Hardin County can now relate to. They lost 77-57 to the Meridian Bobcats on Friday. While losing is never fun, the Cougars can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 408th, while the Bobcats are ranked 159th).
Despite the defeat, Hardin County saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Bryden Banks shot 41% from the field to rack up 18 points and six rebounds. Another player making a difference was Christian Winters, who posted seven points.
AJ Flenoid continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines for Meridian, dropping a double-double with 29 points and 22 boards. Flenoid has been hot, having posted 17 or more points the last six times he's played. Colin Monan was another key player, putting up 17 points in addition to six rebounds and five assists.
Hardin County's loss dropped their record down to 18-12. As for Meridian, they are on a roll lately: they've won 14 of their last 17 contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 24-8 record this season.
Hardin County does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Meridian, they wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next game, a 54-51 win against Waltonville on the 5th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
