The Stanton Blue Devils suffered their closest loss yet this season on Thursday. They fell just short of Baker County by a score of 54-51. Stanton was given a dose of their own medicine in this game as Baker County apparently hadn't forgotten their defeat the last time these teams played back in December of 2015.
Christian Ricks and Raza Cottey certainly did their best on Thursday to try and avoid the loss. Ricks scored 16 points along with two steals and two blocks, while Cottey dropped a double-double on 12 points and 14 rebounds. Cottey is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as he's now pulled down eight or more in the last eight games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Filip Jakovljevic, who scored six points along with two steals.
Baker County can attribute much of their success to Jackson Carver, who scored 16 points along with eight rebounds. That's the first time this season that Carver scored 15 or more points. Anthony Washington was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with two steals.
Stanton's loss ended a seven-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 12-7. As for Baker County, the victory was the fourth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 7-9.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Stanton will challenge Riverside at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Riverside presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than Stanton in Florida (Riverside is ranked 157th, while Stanton is ranked 389th). Baker County's road trip will continue as they head out to face Middleburg at 7:30 p.m. on January 23rd.
