The Southside Tigers were the 78-72 winner over the Wren Hurricanes when they last played one another back in January of 2023, but their luck changed this time around. Southside took a serious blow against the Hurricanes on Friday, falling 89-53. While losing is never fun, Southside can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' South Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 152nd, while the Hurricanes are ranked 22nd).
When it comes to explaining why Southside lost, one person who can't be blamed is Jaden Johnson. Despite the final result, he scored 30 points along with three steals. That was a full 56.6% of Southside's points, marking the third time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Cameron Brown, who scored 12 points.
Southside struggled to work together and finished the game with only four assists. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Wren racked up 18 assists.
Abijah Franklin continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines for Wren, dropping a double-double on 34 points and 13 rebounds. Franklin has been hot recently, having posted 18 or more points the last 11 times he's played. Another player making a difference was Jeremiah Campbell, who scored 16 points along with five rebounds and four steals.
Southside dropped their record down to 9-13 with that defeat, which was their third straight on the road. As for Wren, the win was the seventh in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 17-5.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Southside will take on the Patriots at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Powdersville is strutting with some offensive muscle, as they've averaged 68 points per game this season. As for Wren, they will be playing at home against the Mustangs at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Palmetto has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.
