After flying high against the Randolph Ro-Hawks last Tuesday, the Marion Bulldogs came back down to earth. Marion fell to Cole 49-43. While losing is never fun, Marion can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 596th, while Cole is ranked 269th).
When it comes to explaining why Marion lost on Friday, one person who can't be blamed is Braeden Fleming. Despite the final result, he scored 15 points along with four steals. Fleming hasn't dropped below two steals for eight straight games. Another player making a difference was Jaiden Riley, who scored four points along with 11 rebounds and two steals.
James Livingston continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines for Cole, scoring 25 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Kenny Atunrase, who dropped a double-double on ten points and 18 rebounds.
Marion's defeat ended a four-game streak of away wins and brought them to 18-7. As for Cole, they pushed their record up to 22-9 with that victory, which was their seventh straight at home.
Marion will take on Nixon-Smiley at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Nixon-Smiley has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 188 points over their last three matchups. As for Cole, they will head out on the road to take on Luling at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Luling is coming into the game on a five-game losing streak.
