Basketball Recap: John Carroll Catholic Takes Loss Despite Strong Performances from Brandon James and Joaquin Ruiz

John Carroll Catholic came up into this matchup off a tough 31-point defeat last Tuesday. This time they kept things ultra-competitive, but unfortunately the final result was the same. They fell just short of the Sebastian River Sharks by a score of 52-49 on Thursday. The Rams were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Sharks apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in December of 2022.

John Carroll Catholic's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Joaquin Ruiz, who posted seven points and 11 boards, and Brandon James, who scored 12 points and seven rebounds. The dominant performance gave Ruiz a new career-high in rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Nathan Jackson, who had seven points.

John Carroll Catholic has traveled a rocky road recently having lost four of their last five matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 10-7 record this season. As for Sebastian River, they are on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 10-5 record this season.

John Carroll Catholic wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next game, a 54-35 victory against Lincoln Park Academy on the 17th. Sebastian River has also already played their next matchup (against West Shore), but no score has been uploaded at the time of writing.