The Wake Forest Cougars were the 70-68 winner over the Sanderson Spartans when they last played one another back in December of 2022, but their luck changed this time around. Wake Forest fell 48-41 to Sanderson on Friday. While losing is never fun, Wake Forest can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 518th, while Sanderson is ranked 121st).
Wake Forest's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Caleb Lashley, who scored nine points along with three steals. Braeden Markel was another key contributor, scoring six points along with six rebounds.
Wake Forest struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only two offensive rebounds. That's the fewest offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Nathan Fife was his usual excellent self, scoring 23 points along with five assists and three steals for Sanderson. That makes it four consecutive games in which Fife has scored at least a third of Sanderson's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Patrick Dalton, who scored 13 points along with six rebounds and three steals.
Wake Forest's defeat was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season, which bumped their record down to 1-12. Those losses can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.7 points per game. As for Sanderson, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 7-5 record this season.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Wake Forest on the road again on Friday and play against Leesville Road at 6:30 p.m. on January 12th. Leesville Road is coming into the matchup on a three-game losing streak. As for Sanderson, they will head out on the road to take on Knightdale at 5:15 p.m. on Monday. Hopefully Knightdale focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up eight on Thursday.
