Basketball Recap: Salem Comes Up Short

It was a proper cat-fight when Salem took on Jersey on Friday. The Salem Wildcats were just a bucket shy of victory and fell 49-48 to the Jersey Panthers. The Wildcats were not able to make up for their loss to the Panthers from their previous meeting back in December of 2019.

Despite the defeat, Salem saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Kaeden Bevelo posted 12 points in addition to eight rebounds and three steals. Bevelo is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Noah Nix, who had ten points.

Jaxon Brunaugh continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines for Jersey, going 8 of 17 on his way to 22 points along with five assists and five boards. That's the most points Brunaugh has posted since back in January of 2024. Abe Kribs was another key player, putting up ten points.

Salem's loss dropped their record down to 2-10. As for Jersey, their victory bumped their record up to 3-10.

Salem wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next match, a 42-37 defeat against Mt. Carmel on the 28th. As for Jersey, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 70-38 loss against Pinckneyville on the 28th.