Basketball Recap: Steward Comes Up Short

Steward was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their fourth straight defeat. They were a single point away from ending the streak, but they lost a 48-47 heartbreaker at the hands of the Norfolk Academy Bulldogs. The Spartans were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Bulldogs apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in January of 2025.

Niles Mason

Points

01/13/26 @ Norfolk Academy	17
01/10/26 vs The Carmel School	21
01/09/26 vs Atlantic Shores Christian	15
01/07/26 vs St. Christopher's	22
01/05/26 vs TPLS Christian Academy	22
12/19/25 vs Banner Christian	19

Despite the defeat, Steward saw an underclassman step up: freshman Niles Mason went 7-for-12 en route to 17 points along with seven boards and five blocks. Mason's big performance that evening made it six games in a row in which he has scored at least 15 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Enrique Ortega, who posted eight points.

Steward now has a losing record of 6-7. As for Norfolk Academy, the victory (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 6-6.

Steward didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 64-51 win against Cristo Rey on the 14th. As for Norfolk Academy, they will challenge Nansemond-Suffolk Academy at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.