Basketball Recap: Northwestern Comes Up Short

Despite a phenomenal run in the regular season, Northwestern couldn't carry that success into this playoff game. They were just a bucket shy of victory on Monday and fell 70-69 to the St. Brendan Sabres. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as the Bulls came into the contest with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 18th, while the Sabres are ranked 85th).

Calvin Russell Jr.

Points

02/17/25 vs St. Brendan	16
02/12/25 vs Somerset Academy	38
02/07/25 vs St. Brendan	25
02/05/25 vs South Miami	16

Calvin Russell Jr. and Jamiro Smith certainly did their best on Monday to avoid the loss. Russell Jr. dropped a double-double with 16 points and 13 boards, while Smith went 6-for-7 to rack up 18 points. Russell Jr.'s evening made it four games in a row in which he has scored at least 16 points. Another player making a difference was Dwight Carter, who posted ten points.

Northwestern's loss dropped their record down to 23-4. As for St. Brendan, they are on a roll lately: they've won 11 of their last 12 games, which provided a massive bump to their 20-8 record this season.

Northwestern does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for St. Brendan, they will challenge Stranahan at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. One thing working in St. Brendan's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last 12 matches.