Basketball Recap: Bell Creek Academy Takes Loss Despite Strong Performances from Ocean Thompson and Jarvis Pope

It was a proper cat-fight when Bell Creek Academy duked it out with Jesuit on Tuesday. The Panthers fell just short of the Tigers by a score of 80-78. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game on Friday (70), the Panthers still had to take the loss.

Jarvis Pope

Field Goal Percentage

12/09/25 @ Jesuit	62%
11/28/25 vs Miami Country Day	67%
11/19/25 vs Wiregrass Ranch	50%

Bell Creek Academy's loss came despite strong showings from Jarvis Pope and Ocean Thompson. Pope went 8-for-13 on his way to 26 points in addition to six boards and five assists, while Thompson shot 78% from beyond the arc to rack up 21 points and five rebounds. Pope is also on a roll when it comes to field goal percentage, as he's posted one of at least 50% in the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Jaylan Johnson, who posted nine points along with six rebounds and five assists.

Jesuit found their leader in sophomore Mike McLendon, who went 9-for-14 en route to 22 points in addition to six assists and six boards. With that strong performance, McLendon is now averaging an impressive 15.7 points per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Tyler Caouette, who shot 42% from the field to rack up 15 points and seven rebounds.

Bell Creek Academy's loss dropped their record down to 1-6. As for Jesuit, they pushed their record up to 9-0 with the win, which was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season.

Bell Creek Academy wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next matchup, an 80-15 victory against Varsity Opponent on the 10th. As for Jesuit, they will take on Sports Leadership & Management at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The Tigers will need to watch out since the Spartans have now posted at least 55 points in their last six contests.