After flying high against the Parkersburg Catholic Crusaders last Tuesday, the Wirt County Tigers came back down to earth. Wirt County fell to Magnolia 73-67. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as Wirt County came into the game with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' West Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked 72nd, while Magnolia is ranked 500th).
Wirt County's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Braylan Dawson, who scored 19 points, and Connor Hoover who scored 18 points along with six rebounds. Caleb Axley was another key contributor, scoring eight points.
Wirt County struggled to work together and finished the game with only three assists. That's the fewest assists they've managed all season.
Wirt County has been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 10-8 record this season. As for Magnolia, their win bumped their record up to 6-9.
Wirt County will be playing at home against Ravenswood at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. As for Magnolia, they won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Shadyside at 7:30 p.m. on February 9th. Shadyside is coming into the matchup with six straight wins at home, meaning Magnolia will have to defend against a squad hungry for a victory.
