Basketball Recap: Alex Washington's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Pine Forge Academy over Mesivta

Pine Forge Academy was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their sixth straight defeat dating back to last season. They might have been a little too into the holiday spirit, gifting the Mesivta Mustangs an easy 57-32 win. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as Pine Forge Academy came into the matchup with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked seventh, while Mesivta is ranked 269th).

Several Pine Forge Academy players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Alex Washington, who posted seven points and five rebounds. Washington continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Jonathan Pluviose, who put up four points and seven rebounds.

Mesivta's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Yisrael Epstein, who had ten points and three steals. Epstein is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last seven games he's played dating back to last season. Nathanel Bitas was another key player, putting up seven points along with five boards and five steals.

Pine Forge Academy's loss dropped their record down to 0-5. As for Mesivta, the victory was the third in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 5-1.

Pine Forge Academy will get a bit of extra time to process the defeat as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on Kohelet Yeshiva at 4:30 p.m. on January 7, 2025. As for Mesivta, they didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 77-44 loss against Liguori Academy on the 18th.