The Lancaster Golden Gales were the 55-37 winner over the Athens Bulldogs when they last played one another back in November of 2022, but their luck changed this time around. Lancaster received a tough blow on Saturday as they fell 57-43 to Athens. While losing is never fun, Lancaster can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 208th, while Athens is ranked 65th).
It was another big night for Asa Holcombe, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 12 rebounds for Athens. That makes it three consecutive games in which Holcombe has scored at least 25% of Athens' points. Another player making a difference was Brystol Stump, who scored eight points along with six rebounds.
Lancaster has been struggling recently, as they've lost three of their last four matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-5 record this season. As for Athens, they pushed their record up to 9-3 with that victory, which was their fifth straight at home.
Lancaster will head out on the road to face off against Pickerington Central at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Pickerington Central has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games. As for Athens, they will look to defend their home court on Thursday against Wellston at 7:30 p.m. Wellston is coming into the matchup on a three-game losing streak.
