Basketball Recap: Lakewood Snags Fifth Victory in Last Six Games

River Bluff came into Thursday's matchup looking for another win against Lakewood, but Darius Franklin wouldn't allow it. The Lakewood Gators came out on top against the River Bluff Gators by a score of 44-35 on Thursday thanks in part to Franklin, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 21 boards. He is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as he's now pulled down eight or more in the last seven games he's played.

The team also got some help courtesy of Pop Cato, who posted eight points. He is trending in the right direction considering he's improved his point production for three straight games.

Several Gators players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Yasir Cromer, who had seven points along with five assists and three steals. Mason Young was another key player, putting up four points and seven boards.

Lakewood has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 7-6 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.2 points per game. As for River Bluff, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 5-5.

Lakewood will be taking part in a tournament against Cross Creek at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. Cross Creek will roll in looking for their seventh straight win, something Lakewood surely won't give up without a fight. As for River Bluff, they won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Fort Dorchester at 11:30 a.m. on Friday. River Bluff is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 54 points per game this season.