The Stratford Knights pushed their score all the way to 57 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell 65-57 to West Ashley. While losing is never fun, Stratford can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' South Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 126th, while West Ashley is ranked 44th).
Stratford's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Zanquel Baldwin, who scored 16 points along with six rebounds. The match was Baldwin's sixth in a row with at least ten points. Kristion Swift was another key contributor, scoring 14 points along with five rebounds.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead West Ashley to victory, but perhaps none more so than Damani White, who scored 11 points along with nine assists and five rebounds. The match was White's fourth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Leo Lowe, who scored 12 points.
Stratford now has a losing record at 5-6. As for West Ashley, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 9-4 record this season.
Stratford will head out on the road to face off against Cross at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. Cross is strutting with some offensive muscle, as they've averaged 71.5 points per game. West Ashley will take on Hanahan in a holiday battle at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday at. Hopefully Hanahan focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 32 on Monday.
