Basketball Recap: Marcus Goss Jr.'s Big Game Can't Quite Lead Altamonte Christian over Hope Academy

Altamonte Christian lost against Hope Academy back in December of 2023 and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Thursday. The Altamonte Christian Eagles fell just short of the Hope Academy Trojan Tigers by a score of 65-63. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game last Friday (56), the Eagles still had to take the loss.

Several Eagles players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Marcus Goss Jr., who went 5 for 6 en route to 13 points and three steals. That's the most steals Goss Jr. has posted since back in February of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Ryan Almeda, who went 7 of 12 on his way to 15 points.

Hope Academy was led to victory by Willie Griggs and Nathaniel Boyer. Griggs dropped a triple-double on 14 points, ten boards, and ten blocks, while Boyer went 5 for 9 en route to 17 points along with seven rebounds and six steals. With that strong performance, Boyer is now averaging an impressive 2 steals per game. Another player making a difference was Nehemiah Rapael, who posted nine points and seven boards.

Altamonte Christian's defeat dropped their record down to 9-15. As for Hope Academy, the victory (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 19-9.

Altamonte Christian wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next matchup, a 53-46 win against Lake Mary on the 31st. As for Hope Academy, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 57-52 victory against South Lake on the 31st.