If the Alexander Central Cougars were feeling good off their 60-39 takedown of the Ashe County Huskies last Friday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. Alexander Central took a 60-49 hit to the loss column at the hands of Watauga on Tuesday. While losing is never fun, Alexander Central can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 305th, while Watauga is ranked 130th).
Alexander Central lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Chad Lasher, who scored 15 points along with seven rebounds. Another player making a difference was Jayon Connor, who scored ten points along with six assists and five rebounds.
He wasn't the only one working in the assists department: Alexander Central were working as a unit and finished the game with 20 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Watauga only racked up 11 assists.
Watauga found their leader in underclassman Cade Keller, who scored 22 points along with two steals. Jackson Pryor was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with seven rebounds and two steals.
Alexander Central has traveled a rocky road recently having lost six of their last eight matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-13 record this season. As for Watauga, they are on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 16-5 record this season.
Alexander Central will head out on the road to take on South Caldwell at 8:30 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in South Caldwell's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last six games. As for Watauga, they will look to defend their home court on Friday against Hibriten at 8:00 p.m.
