If Italy was riding high fresh off their 62-30 takedown of Hubbard last Tuesday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Italy Gladiators opened the new year with a less-than-successful 59-50 defeat to the Clifton Cubs. While losing is never fun, the Gladiators can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 915th, while the Cubs are ranked 419th).
Maddox Hinojosa was his usual excellent self, putting up 27 points for Clifton. With that strong performance, Hinojosa is now averaging an impressive 15.2 points per game. Another player making a difference was Diego Rodriguez, who posted 13 points.
Italy's loss dropped their record down to 14-7. As for Clifton, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 15-6.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Italy will square off against Mildred at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Mildred will roll in looking for their sixth straight victory, something Italy surely won't give up without a fight. As for Clifton, they will face off against Perrin-Whitt at 4:15 p.m. on Monday. Clifton is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 58.6 points per game this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
