The Martinsville Artesians lost a heartbreaker to the Bloomington South Panthers when they met  back in March of 2022, and they left with a heavy heart again  on Saturday. Martinsville received a tough blow  as they fell  74-56 to Bloomington South. While losing is never fun, Martinsville can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage  in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings  (they are ranked 274th, while Bloomington South is ranked 119th).
 Martinsville's loss  came despite strong showings from  Grady Gardner and  Hunter Stroud.  Gardner  scored 20 points, while  Stroud  scored 16 points. That was a full 35.7% of Martinsville's points, marking the third time in a row he's  earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of  Aj Reynolds, who  scored nine points.
 Martinsville's defeat was  their fifth straight on the road, which  bumped their record down to 3-11. As for Bloomington South, the  victory (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 9-7.
 Both  teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Martinsville and Franklin Community will face off  at 7:30  p.m.  on January 26th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Franklin Community knows how to get  points on the board -- the  team has finished with flashy point totals in its past eight matches -- so hopefully Martinsville likes a good challenge. As for Bloomington South, they will stay at home for another  game and welcome Terre Haute South Vigo at 7:30  p.m.  on January 26th. Terre Haute South Vigo is coming into the  contest on a four-game losing streak.