Basketball Recap: Norfolk Takes Loss Despite Strong Performances from Damien Jones and Drew Streich

Norfolk lost against Columbus back in February of 2024 and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Thursday. The Norfolk Panthers fell 57-45 to the Columbus Discoverers. The Panthers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Norfolk's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Drew Streich, who went 7 for 17 on his way to 17 points and seven rebounds, and Damien Jones, who almost dropped a double-double on nine points and 11 boards. Those 11 rebounds gave Jones a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Parker Rabbass, who posted eight points and six rebounds.

Columbus had a senior duo take command as Quinn Freshour went 8 of 14 on his way to 22 points and three steals and Luke Messersmith went 5 of 7 on his way to 10 points in addition to seven assists and six steals. Those 22 points set a new season-high mark for Freshour. Another player making a difference was Jaxson Vasicek, who had nine points and five boards.

Norfolk's defeat dropped their record down to 2-6. As for Columbus, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 4-4 record this season.

Norfolk didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 58-53 loss against Fremont on the 7th. As for Columbus, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next contest, a 78-33 defeat against Lincoln North Star on the 7th.