Basketball Recap: St. John Paul II Academy Snaps Six-Game Streak of Wins at Home

St. John Paul II Academy entered their match against Saint Andrew on Friday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. The St. John Paul II Academy Eagles came up short against the Saint Andrew's Scots, falling 81-60. While losing is never fun, the Eagles can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 311th, while the Scots are ranked 19th).

Despite the loss, St. John Paul II Academy still got an impressive performance from Ian Astiazarain, who went 10 for 19 on his way to 27 points. Those 27 points gave Astiazarain a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Dior Johnson, who went 5 of 12 on his way to 12 points and three steals.

Saint Andrew's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Xander Gerard, who went 7 of 9 on his way to 18 points in addition to eight rebounds and seven assists. Another player making a difference was Zion Sampaio, who went 9 for 11 on his way to 18 points and five rebounds.

St. John Paul II Academy's loss ended a six-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 6-4. As for Saint Andrew's, the victory (which was their fifth in a row) raised their record to 11-1.

St. John Paul II Academy and Katz Yeshiva will compete for holiday cheer at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Katz Yeshiva has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games. As for Saint Andrew's, they will be taking part in a tournament against Coral Springs on Friday. Saint Andrew's knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past 12 contests -- so hopefully Coral Springs likes a good challenge.