After a string of five wins, the Manning Monarchs's good fortune finally ran out on Saturday. They took a 55-45 hit to the loss column at the hands of Wilson Hall.
Despite the loss, Manning still got an impressive performance from Jeffrey Ceasar, who scored 23 points along with three steals. Ceasar is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last eight games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Tavion Carter, who scored four points along with 13 rebounds and three blocks.
Even though they lost, Manning were smashing the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Wilson Hall only pulled down seven offensive rebounds.
Wilson Hall got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Hugh Humphries out in front who scored 13 points along with six rebounds. The matchup was Humphries' fourth in a row with at least ten points. Knox Buxton was another key contributor, scoring eight points.
Manning's defeat dropped their record down to 10-4. As for Wilson Hall, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 13-2 record this season.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Manning will face off against Kingstree at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. Wilson Hall and Hammond will face off at 7:30 p.m. on January 3rd without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in South Carolina (Hammond is ranked 49th, while Wilson Hall is ranked 37th).
