Basketball Recap: Balboa Takes a Loss

On Tuesday, the Balboa Roughriders were just a bucket shy of victory and fell 61-60 to the Potter's House Christian Lions. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as the Roughriders came into the match with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 21st, while the Lions are ranked 191st).

Several Roughriders players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Apolo Caetano, who went 7 for 15 on his way to 20 points in addition to seven assists and three steals. The dominant performance gave Caetano a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Vito Albanese, who went 5 of 12 on his way to 16 points.

Potter's House Christian found their leader in sophomore Jerry Torchon, who went 5 of 8 on his way to 16 points and four steals. Those four steals set a new season-high mark for Torchon. Tre Torchon was another key player, putting up ten points and seven rebounds.

Balboa has been struggling recently as they've lost ten of their last 13 games, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-13 record this season. As for Potter's House Christian, they moved to 5-7 with that victory, which also ended their four-game losing streak.

Balboa and Grind Prep will compete for holiday cheer at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Balboa's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last five contests. As for Potter's House Christian, they will get to enjoy the win for a while: their next game is against Varsity Opponent at 7:00 p.m. on January 7, 2025.