The Athens Drive Jaguars's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Wednesday after their fifth straight loss. They fell to Wakefield 61-55. While losing is never fun, Athens Drive can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 412th, while Wakefield is ranked 31st).
Despite the defeat, Athens Drive saw an underclassman step up: Chase Hardy scored 25 points along with six rebounds. Those 25 points set a new season-high mark for him. Ryan Poggioli was another key contributor, scoring 15 points along with seven rebounds.
Athens Drive has been struggling recently, as they've lost six of their last seven games, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-9 record this season. As for Wakefield, their victory bumped their record up to 12-2.
Athens Drive will head out on the road to face off against Sanderson at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. The timing is sure in Sanderson's favor as the team sits on three straight wins at home while Athens Drive has been banged up by three consecutive losses on the road. Wakefield will take on Rolesville at 7:45 p.m. on Friday. Hopefully Rolesville focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up nine last Friday.
