Basketball Recap: Eastern Mennonite Comes Up Short

Eastern Mennonite had lost four straight at home, but on Friday they dropped down to 5-6 to make it five. They took a 74-59 bruising from the Appalachian Christian School Trailblazers. While losing is never fun, the Flames can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked 252nd, while the Trailblazers are ranked 112th).

As for Appalachian Christian School, the win was the 14th in a row for them, bringing their record up to 16-1. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 67.7 points over those games.

Appalachian Christian School's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Russell Bryant led the charge by shooting 42% from the field to rack up 23 points and five rebounds. The matchup was Bryant's fourth in a row with at least 21 points. Another player making a difference was Isaac Morris, who almost dropped a double-double with 15 points and nine boards.

Looking ahead, Eastern Mennonite will square off against North Cross at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. As for Appalachian Christian School, they will take on Temple Christian at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.