Basketball Recap: Central Takes Loss Despite Strong Efforts from Garrett Gandy and Carson Baxley

It was a proper cat-fight when Central took on T.R. Miller on Thursday. The Central Jaguars might have been a little too into the holiday spirit, gifting the T.R. Miller Tigers an easy 57-33 win. While losing is never fun, the Jaguars can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 587th in Florida, while the Tigers are ranked 174th in Alabama).

Central's loss came despite strong showings from Carson Baxley and Garrett Gandy. Baxley posted five points and four steals, while Gandy earned six points. Baxley is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last nine games he's played.

Even though they lost, Central smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in three consecutive contests.

Eli Hubbert was his usual excellent self, putting up nine points along with seven rebounds and five steals for T.R. Miller. The team also got some help courtesy of Myles Johnson, who had ten points and three steals.

Central has been struggling recently as they've lost seven of their last eight matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-8 record this season. As for T.R. Miller, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 4-1.

Central didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 53-36 defeat against Bethlehem on the 20th. As for T.R. Miller, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next contest, a 1-0 win against Thomasville on the 20th.