The Hodgeman County Longhorns have been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They took a 72-62 hit to the loss column at the hands of South Gray on Tuesday. While losing is never fun, Hodgeman County can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Kansas basketball rankings (they are ranked 125th, while the Rebels are ranked 24th).
Despite the loss, Hodgeman County still got an impressive performance from Owen Reece, who scored 28 points. That was a full 45.2% of Hodgeman County's points, marking the 14th time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Matthew Patterson was another key contributor, scoring ten points.
Hodgeman County struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only four offensive rebounds. That's the fewest offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Hodgeman County has not been sharp recently as the team's lost three of their last four matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 9-5 record this season. As for South Gray, their win bumped their record up to 13-1.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Hodgeman County will take on the Red Aces at 8:00 p.m. on Friday. Bucklin will be looking to extend their current three-game winning streak. As for South Gray, their homestand continues as they prepare to take on the Tigers at 8:00 p.m. on February 2nd. Pawnee Heights is no doubt hoping to put an end to a three-game streak of away losses.
