Basketball Recap: Hammond Central Comes Up Short

Hammond Central suffered their biggest loss since November 26th on Friday. They might have been a little too into the holiday spirit, gifting the 21st Century Charter Cougars an easy 81-59 victory. While losing is never fun, the Wolves can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 200th, while the Cougars are ranked 33rd).

Defeat or not, Hammond Central got some senior leadership from Marcus Browder and Gregory Dotson. Browder went 10 for 19 on his way to 25 points and three steals, while Dotson went 7 of 11 on his way to 22 points. Browder is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last 14 games he's played dating back to last season. The team also got some help courtesy of Cylin Pointer, who posted five points.

Leading 21st Century Charter to victory were Terrence Hayes and Lemetrius Williams. Hayes dropped a double-double on 18 points and 14 assists, while Williams went 12 of 16 on his way to 28 points in addition to eight boards and seven assists. Those 14 assists gave Hayes a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Ronald Mosley, who went 6 of 13 on his way to 15 points.

Hammond Central has been struggling recently as they've lost five of their last six contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-7 record this season. As for 21st Century Charter, the win keeps them at an undefeated 6-0.

Hammond Central didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next matchup, a 52-46 victory against Thornton on the 21st. 21st Century Charter and Crown Point will round out the year against one another at at 10:45 a.m. on Friday. 21st Century Charter is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 80.5 points per game this season.