Hardwood Heroes Sports
Athens Snaps 17-Game Losing Streak Versus Warren
By: Kendall Kraft
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The Athens Bulldogs were looking to snap a 17 game losing streak, dating back to 2006, against the Warren Warriors on Friday night.
Six of those losses for Athens came in the postseason, so the 2020 Bulldogs wanted to write a new script and break the losing streak against Warren.
The Bulldogs started the game off strong and kept a decent lead up until the end of the third quarter. Warren erased a 12 point deficit to tie the game up at 50.
Despite losing the double digit lead, head coach Mickey Cozart was not concerned about his team’s ability to win the game. “Let’s just go win one quarter,” Cozart said to his team.
Athens came out firing in the beginning of the fourth and immediately went on a 6-0 run to gain the lead. The Bulldogs never let up and came up with key stops on the defensive side of the ball to hold their lead for the rest of the fourth quarter. They would go on to win 77-65.
Brayden Markins was key to the victory, leading the team in scoring with 21 points. He also finished with nine rebounds.
Another key player was Isaiah Butcher. Butcher finished the night with a double-double, tallying 15 points and 16 rebounds. After the game Butcher talked about how important the win was for the team.
“It’s pretty big, we haven’t beat them the past 17 games,” Butcher said. “It’s a big win for the tournament and what we got going on down the road. We got Marietta next and that’s big for us, so this was a big win for us.”
The Bulldogs are now 10-3 after the victory against Warren. They will travel to Marietta on January 21st to try and win their third consecutive game.