Basketball Recap: Jaireus Johnson Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat Kendrick

There's no place like home for Columbus, who bounced back after a loss on the road back in December of 2024. They walked away with a 60-50 victory over the Kendrick Cherokees on Tuesday. The Blue Devils have seen this before: they got the W the last time they saw the Cherokees, too.

Columbus got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Jaireus Johnson out in front who went 6 of 8 on his way to 18 points in addition to eight boards and five assists. The team also got some help courtesy of Smith Carver, who went 6 for 10 on his way to 13 points and three steals.

Columbus has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 6-9 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.5 points per game. As for Kendrick, with the defeat, they broke their nine-game winning streak and moved their record to 11-2.

Columbus will challenge Shaw at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Shaw is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 51.4 points per game this season. As for Kendrick, they will take on Spencer at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Spencer also hasn't been messing around on offense: they've averaged 59 points per game.