Taft was the 45-40 winner over Kennedy when they last played one another last Tuesday, but their luck changed this time around. The Taft Wildcats fell just short of the Kennedy Thunderbirds by a score of 54-52 on Wednesday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Wildcats have suffered since November 25, 2024.
Taft lost despite a true team effort on offense. The best among them was Nick Andrade, who went 6 of 10 en route to 15 points and three steals. Ernie Laulu was another key player, going 5 for 12 on his way to 12 points along with six rebounds and four blocks.
Kennedy can attribute much of their success to Jaymar Buton, who went 6 of 13 to rack up 14 points. Buton is also on a roll when it comes to field goal percentage, as he's posted one of at least 45% in the last four games he's played. Another player making a difference was Yoshi Tanaka, who posted nine points and six boards.
Taft's defeat dropped their record down to 12-10. As for Kennedy, the victory (which was their fourth in a row) raised their record to 10-10.
Coincidentally, the two teams will both be playing McFarland the next time they take the court. Taft will head out to face McFarland at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, while Kennedy will head out to face them at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
