Northside - Jacksonville comes up short despite Xavier Ritter's dominant performance

By Team Reports Jan 22, 2024, 9:23am

Recap: Northside - Jacksonville Monarchs vs. Havelock Rams

The Northside - Jacksonville Monarchs's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Friday after their fourth straight loss. They were just a bucket shy of victory and fell 64-63 to Havelock. Even though they lost, Northside - Jacksonville's still made a splash on offense and bumped their average scoring up to 50.3 points per game (they're now ranked -1th in scoring overall).

When it comes to explaining why Northside - Jacksonville lost, one person who can't be blamed is Xavier Ritter. Despite the final result, he scored 32 points along with two steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Ritter has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Talan Evans, who scored 15 points along with nine rebounds and three blocks.

Northside - Jacksonville bumped their record down to 1-14 with that loss, which was their fifth straight at home. Those losses can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.0 points per game. As for Havelock, their victory ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 4-8.

Northside - Jacksonville will square off against New Bern at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. One thing working in New Bern's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last three matchups. As for Havelock, they will look to defend their home court on Tuesday against J.H. Rose at 8:00 p.m. J.H. Rose is coming into the game hot, having won their last four games.