On Friday, the Staples Wreckers faced the Stamford Black Knights in a battle between two of the state's top teams. Staples fell just short of Stamford by a score of 60-57. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Sam Clachko and Mason Tobias certainly did their best on Friday to try and avoid the loss. Clachko scored 24 points, while Tobias scored 17 points along with five rebounds and two steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Tobias has scored all season. Charlie Bowman was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with five rebounds.
Even though they lost, Staples smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Ejai Presley continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines for Stamford, scoring 24 points along with six assists and three steals. Presley has been hot recently, having posted 15 or more points the last six times he's played. Another player making a difference was Ryan Connors, who scored 13 points.
Staples' loss ended a five-game streak of away wins and brought them to 5-4. As for Stamford, the win was the eighth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 9-1.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Staples will challenge Darien at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Darien knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with flashy point totals in its past five matches -- so hopefully Staples likes a good challenge. As for Stamford, they will head out on the road to square off against Ridgefield at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Ridgefield is on a five-game streak of home wins, Stamford a five-game streak of away wins -- so someone will have to leave a streak behind on the court.
