Preview: Padua Franciscan Bruins vs. Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin Lions
Padua Franciscan has enjoyed the comforts of home their last four games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will square off against the Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin Lions at 7:15 p.m. on Friday. Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Padua Franciscan, who comes in off a win.
Even though Padua Franciscan has not done well against Gilmour Academy recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. Padua Franciscan walked away with a 58-49 win over Gilmour Academy. The victory was all the more spectacular given Padua Franciscan's disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 468th, while Gilmour Academy is ranked 146th).
Padua Franciscan's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but JT Giannakopoulos led the charge by scoring 16 points along with five rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Riley Cervenka, who scored 11 points along with nine rebounds and six assists.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin came up short against Bedford on Tuesday and fell 49-41. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest points Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin has scored all season.
Padua Franciscan is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 6-5 record this season. As for Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin, they now have a losing record at 6-7.
Padua Franciscan couldn't quite finish off Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin in their previous meeting back in February of 2023 and fell 45-42. Can Padua Franciscan avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
