The Taylor Ducks varsity boys’ basketball team suffered a 72-53 defeat against the Lampasas Badgers on Friday, Jan. 3.
This marked the Ducks’ first district loss, ending their five-game winning streak.
Taylor was competitive in the first quarter as junior guard Kadrien Dreary tied the game at 11 with a three-pointer.
Dreary finished with 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting.
The Ducks took a 15-14 lead late in the first quarter, but the Badgers went on a 5-0 run in the second quarter to regain the advantage. Senior guard TJ Whybrew cut into the deficit with a threepointer to make it 19-18.
Whybrew led Taylor in scoring with 22 points on 7-of-16 shooting.
After that, the Ducks’ offense stalled as the Badgers built a 34-22 lead. Dreary hit another three-pointer to make it a single-digit deficit, but the momentum was shortlived.
Lampasas extended its lead to 42-28 in the third quarter and later to its largest margin, 66-42.
Despite the loss, Taylor showed fight throughout. Senior forward Eli Laurence hit a late-game three-pointer and finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Taylor’s defense struggled as the Badgers shot 49% from the field compared to the Ducks’ 35%. The Ducks also suffered on the boards, with Lampasas outrebounding them 40-29.
Taylor fell to 10-7 overall and 1-1 in district play. The Ducks will look to get back on track against Gateway College Preparatory on Tuesday, Jan. 7, before facing Burnet on Friday, Jan. 10, at 7:30 p.m.
