The Lafayette Hornets and the Hilliard Red Flashes squared off in some playoff action on Thursday, but sadly the Lafayette Hornets had to settle for second. Their rough 76-56 defeat to the Red Flashes might stick with them for a while. While losing is never fun, Lafayette can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 505th, while Hilliard is ranked 151st).
Several Hornets players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Jalen Hill, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and ten rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Hill has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Amarie Fleming, who scored 15 points along with six rebounds.
Even though they lost, Lafayette smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 29 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Hilliard only pulled down 19 offensive rebounds.
Hilliard got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was CJ Hall out in front who scored 20 points along with eight rebounds and four steals. Hall hasn't dropped below eight rebounds for five straight games. Another player making a difference was Malcom Warthen, who scored 17 points along with five assists and three steals.
Lafayette's defeat dropped their record down to 12-9. As for Hilliard, the victory (which was their 14th in a row) raised their record to 21-2.
Lafayette does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Hilliard, they will take on Madison County at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. Hilliard knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past three contests -- so hopefully Madison County likes a good challenge.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
