This season hasn't been kind to the Independence 76ers, who are still winless after their sixth match. They fell to Westland 71-65. While losing is never fun, Independence can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 792nd, while Westland is ranked 299th).
Several 76ers players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Ahmad Diagne, who scored 21 points along with three steals. The match was Diagne's fourth in a row with at least ten points. Amari Williams was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with eight assists and four steals.
Noah Kershaw continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines for Westland, scoring 29 points along with seven rebounds and six assists. That makes it five consecutive games in which Kershaw has scored at least 25% of Westland's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Cameron Friend, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and 13 rebounds.
Independence's loss was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season, which bumped their record down to 0-6. As for Westland, their victory bumped their record up to 3-4.
Independence will finish 2023 at home by hosting Dublin Scioto at 11:45 a.m. on Saturday. Dublin Scioto is coming into the match hot, having won their last four games. Westland will wrap up 2023 with a road trip to face off against Watkins Memorial at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
