The Hempstead Bobcats fought the good fight in their overtime match against the Van Vleck Leopards on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They took a 46-42 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Leopards. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Hempstead in their matchups with Van Vleck: they've now lost five in a row.
Hempstead lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Floyd Ragston, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and ten rebounds. That's the first time this season that Ragston pulled down eight or more rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Jamari Idlebird, who scored eight points along with nine rebounds.
Van Vleck was led to victory by Corey Austin and Steve Moore. Austin scored 19 points along with two steals, while Moore scored 16 points along with nine rebounds and three steals. Austin has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last 11 times he's played.
Hempstead has traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost four of their last five matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 14-14 record this season. As for Van Vleck, the victory was the sixth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 17-7.
Hempstead will look to defend their home court on Tuesday against Danbury at 7:30 p.m. As for Van Vleck, they will head out on the road to face off against Hitchcock at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Hitchcock knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past seven games -- so hopefully Van Vleck likes a good challenge.
