Basketball Recap: Jacob De La Cruz's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Marian Catholic over Tri-Valley

Marian Catholic was the 45-44 winner over Tri-Valley when they last played one another back in December of 2024, but their luck changed this time around. Marian Catholic took a 71-59 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Tri-Valley Bulldogs on Tuesday. While Marian Catholic didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating Tri-Valley 18-13 in the first quarter.

Several Marian Catholic players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Jacob De La Cruz, who went 6 of 15 on his way to 17 points and six boards. The dominant performance gave De La Cruz a new career-high in rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Justin De La Cruz, who went 7 for 16 en route to 16 points.

Even though they lost, Marian Catholic smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 23 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in nine consecutive games.

Marian Catholic's defeat was their third straight at home, which dropped their record down to 8-10. As for Tri-Valley, their record now sits at 13-4.

Marian Catholic will look to defend their home court on Friday against Williams Valley at 7:30 p.m. Tri-Valley has already played their next matchup (against Schuylkill Valley), but no score has been uploaded at the time of writing.