Basketball Recap: Servite Takes a Loss

After flying high against Western on Friday, Servite came back down to earth. The Friars were just a bucket shy of victory on Saturday and fell 64-63 to the Newport Harbor Sailors. The Friars were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Sailors apparently hadn't forgotten their defeat the last time these teams played back in December of 2024.

Tariq Johnson

Points

12/13/25 vs Newport Harbor	25
12/12/25 @ Western	14
12/09/25 vs Trabuco Hills	13
12/08/25 vs Dana Hills	12
12/05/25 vs Esperanza	6
+ 8 more games

Despite the loss, Servite saw an underclassman step up: freshman Tariq Johnson went 9-for-18 to rack up 25 points and five assists. With that strong performance, Johnson is now averaging an impressive 15.2 points per game. Another player making a difference was Saiger Smith, who posted 13 points.

The defeat snapped Servite's winning streak at three games and leaves them with a 10-3 record. As for Newport Harbor, the victory (which was their fourth in a row) raised their record to 8-3.

Servite will take on Palm Desert in a holiday battle at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. The Friars' defense better be ready for this one: the Aztecs have averaged an impressive 76.1 points per game this season. As for Newport Harbor, they will get to enjoy the win for a while: their next game is against Compton at 4:30 p.m. on the 26th.