Basketball Recap: Tobe Nwankwo's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Kimball over Modesto Christian

Kimball was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They lost 91-65 to the Modesto Christian Crusaders. While losing is never fun, the Jaguars can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 594th, while the Crusaders are ranked 62nd).

Several Jaguars players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Tobe Nwankwo, who went 6 of 9 on his way to 16 points and six rebounds. That's the most points Nwankwo has posted since back in December of 2023. The team also got some help courtesy of Tristen DeBenedetti, who went 6 of 11 on his way to 20 points and five rebounds.

Gavin Sykes was his usual excellent self, going 9 of 16 on his way to 23 points and eight rebounds for Modesto Christian. Elijah Payne was another key player, going 5 of 9 on his way to 13 points and three steals.

Kimball's loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 6-9. As for Modesto Christian, the win was the eighth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 9-3.

Kimball wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next matchup, a 77-76 defeat against Golden Valley on the 6th. As for Modesto Christian, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 76-63 loss against Crespi on the 4th.