If the John Battle Trojans were feeling good off their 75-48 takedown of the Cloudland Highlanders on Monday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. John Battle might have been a little too into the holiday spirit, gifting Unicoi County an easy 88-63 victory. While losing is never fun, John Battle can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 257th in Virginia, while Unicoi County is ranked 84th in Tennessee).
Jackson Simmons was his usual excellent self, scoring 36 points along with eight assists and five rebounds for Unicoi County. The game was Simmons' 19th in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Koda Cutlip, who scored 21 points.
John Battle's loss dropped their record down to 2-5. As for Unicoi County, the win (which was their seventh in a row) raised their record to 16-3.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. John Battle won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Marion at 7:30 p.m. on December 22nd. Marion has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 219 points over their last three games. Unicoi County will have some time to savor their win since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Hampton at 8:00 p.m. on January 2, 2024.
