While it was all tied up 29-29 at halftime, the Alexander Central Cougars were not quite the South Caldwell Spartans's equal in the second half on Friday. They fell just short of the Spartans by a score of 52-49. While losing is never fun, Alexander Central can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 315th, while South Caldwell is ranked 128th).
Alexander Central's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Chad Lasher, who scored 16 points. Jayon Connor was another key contributor, scoring 13 points along with five assists.
Alexander Central has not been sharp recently as the team has lost four of their last five games, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-14 record this season. As for South Caldwell, the win was the seventh in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 16-6.
Alexander Central will head out on the road to face off against Hibriten at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Hibriten is on a nine-game streak of home losses, Alexander Central a five-game streak of away losses, but someone's luck is about to change. South Caldwell will take on Ashe County at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
