Basketball Recap: Lakewood's Luck Takes a Turn for the Worse on Tuesday

Gators

Previous 5 Games

12/17/24 @ Wilson	55-61
12/16/24 vs Scott's Branch	83-35
12/14/24 vs Sumter	51-40
12/13/24 vs Dreher	42-37
12/11/24 @ Westwood	40-48

After a string of three wins, Lakewood's good fortune finally ran out on Tuesday. They took a 61-55 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Wilson Tigers. While losing is never fun, the Gators can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' South Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 103rd, while the Tigers are ranked 32nd).

When it comes to explaining why Lakewood lost, don't look at Carlos Franklin. Despite the final result, he made all 7 shots he took from beyond the arc to post 21 points. Franklin continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last four games he's played. Darius Franklin was another key player, dropping a double-double on 12 points and ten boards.

Wilson's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Tristan Thompson, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and 11 boards. Thompson's evening made it four games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Josh Leonard, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and ten boards.

Lakewood now has a losing record at 5-6. As for Wilson, the victory was the fourth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 8-3.

Lakewood will take on Darlington in a holiday battle at at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Lakewood is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 52.4 points per game this season. Wilson and Hartsville will compete for holiday cheer at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Wilson knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past nine matches -- so hopefully Hartsville likes a good challenge.