The Sam Houston Texans's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Tuesday after their ninth straight loss. They fell 68-58 to Haltom. While losing is never fun, Sam Houston can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 728th, while Haltom is ranked 127th).
Several Texans players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Rylan Austin, who scored 15 points along with seven rebounds and two steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Harlem Hayes, who scored 16 points.
Kuol Atak was his usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 31 points and 11 rebounds for Haltom. Atak has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last 11 times he's played. Another player making a difference was Baron Smith jr, who almost dropped a double-double on 13 points and nine rebounds.
Sam Houston has not been sharp recently as the team has lost 18 of their last 19 matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-25 record this season. As for Haltom, they pushed their record up to 21-9 with that win, which was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season.
Sam Houston will take on Grand Prairie at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. As for Haltom, they will head out on the road to challenge South Grand Prairie at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Haltom is strutting with some offensive muscle, as they've averaged 63.9 points per game this season.
