The Garinger Wildcats's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Friday after their sixth straight loss. They were beaten by Butler 67-34. While losing is never fun, Garinger can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 544th, while Butler is ranked 111th).
Sham Muhammad was Garinger's leading scorer, having posted nine points.
Coby Speed held things down on the boards with seven rebounds.
Butler's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Tyler Showalter led the charge by scoring 15 points along with six rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Terrance Badio, who scored ten points along with two steals.
Garinger's loss was their 21st straight on the road dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 1-16. As for Butler, they are on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a nice bump to their 11-7 record this season.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Garinger will take on East Mecklenburg at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Hopefully East Mecklenburg focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 18 on Friday. As for Butler, they will look to defend their home court on Tuesday against Providence at 7:30 p.m.
