The Laurel Highlands Mustangs's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Friday after their seventh straight loss. They opened the new year with a less-than-successful 73-63 loss to Albert Gallatin. Having run the score up that high, both teams might be doing some extra defensive drills very soon.
When it comes to explaining why Laurel Highlands lost, one person who can't be blamed is Aiden Black. Despite the final result, he scored 18 points. Black scored a full 28.6% of Laurel Highlands' points, the third time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Antwan Black, who scored 12 points.
Albert Gallatin's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Shymere Wilson, who scored 21 points along with three steals. Those 21 points set a new season-high mark for him. The team also got some help courtesy of Blake White, who scored 15 points along with seven rebounds and five steals.
Laurel Highlands' defeat was their third straight at home, which bumped their record down to 2-10. That rough patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 61.7 points per game. As for Albert Gallatin, the win got them back to even at 5-5.
Laurel Highlands will head out on the road to face off against Belle Vernon at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Belle Vernon presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than Laurel Highlands in Pennsylvania (Belle Vernon is ranked 116th, while Laurel Highlands is ranked 512th). As for Albert Gallatin, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Elizabeth Forward at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. One thing working in Elizabeth Forward's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last eight games.
