Basketball Recap: Josuel Cruz's Big Game Can't Quite Lead North Bay Haven Academy over Thomas County Central

After flying high against RePublic on Friday, North Bay Haven Academy came back down to earth. The North Bay Haven Academy Buccaneers came up short against the Thomas County Central Yellow Jackets on Friday, falling 65-39. While losing is never fun, the Buccaneers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 448th in Florida, while the Yellow Jackets are ranked 125th in Georgia).

North Bay Haven Academy's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Josuel Cruz, who went 5 for 9 on his way to 11 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jamal Fennell, who posted seven points and seven rebounds.

Colby Mullinax was his usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 23 points and 13 boards for Thomas County Central. With that strong performance, Mullinax is now averaging an impressive 8.3 rebounds per game. Eric Love, III was another key player, going 6 of 12 on his way to 15 points along with five assists and four steals.

Buccaneers

Previous 5 Games

12/27/24 vs Thomas County Central	39-65
12/27/24 vs RePublic	65-43
12/20/24 vs North Murray	69-53
12/19/24 vs Cornerstone Charter Academy	70-48
12/16/24 @ Bozeman	51-64

With the defeat, North Bay Haven Academy broke their three-game winning streak and moved their record to 5-6. As for Thomas County Central, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 8-2 record this season.

North Bay Haven Academy wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next game, a 66-55 loss against Ravenwood on the 28th. As for Thomas County Central, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next match, a 69-53 defeat against Albertville on the 28th.