The Hickory Grove Christian Lions's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Tuesday after their ninth straight loss. Their tough 68-43 defeat to Gaston Christian might stick with them for a while. Hickory Grove Christian has not had much luck with Gaston Christian recently, as the team's come up short the last eight times they've met.
Hickory Grove Christian's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Brent Banks, who scored 14 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Tristan Nelson, who scored 13 points along with five rebounds.
Gaston Christian found their leader in underclassman Cameron Newman, who scored 20 points along with four steals. Joe Rhyne was another key contributor, scoring 14 points.
Hickory Grove Christian has been struggling recently, as they've lost 12 of their last 13 matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-15 record this season. As for Gaston Christian, they pushed their record up to 12-12 with that win, which was their 11th straight at home.
Hickory Grove Christian will take on Gaston Day at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Gaston Day presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than Hickory Grove Christian in North Carolina (Gaston Day is ranked 98th, while Hickory Grove Christian is ranked 419th). As for Gaston Christian, they will head out on the road to square off against Concord Academy at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Hopefully Concord Academy focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 13 on Tuesday.
