Basketball Recap: Clifton Takes Loss Despite Strong Performances from Tristan Hammond and Ray Ochoa

If Clifton was riding high fresh off their 83-10 takedown of Harmony School of Innovation last Friday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Clifton Cubs took a 65-54 hit to the loss column at the hands of the West Trojans on Tuesday. The Cubs were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Trojans apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in February of 2024.

Clifton's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Ray Ochoa, who posted 20 points, and Tristan Hammond, who scored 19 points. Those 19 points gave Hammond a new career-high.

West was led to victory by Ayden Poteet and Easton Rinewalt. Poteet went 8 of 11 on his way to 20 points and eight boards, while Rinewalt dropped a double-double on 12 points and ten assists. Poteet has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last three times he's played. Cason Carroll was another key player, putting up nine points and four steals.

Clifton's loss dropped their record down to 17-9. As for West, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 15-9 record this season.

Clifton wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next contest, a 77-56 victory against Whitney on the 24th. As for West, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 61-55 win against Troy on the 25th.