Basketball Recap: Central Takes a Loss

Central suffered their biggest defeat since February 6, 2024 on Friday. They came up short against the Clovis North Broncos, falling 82-56. While losing is never fun, the Grizzlies can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 114th, while the Broncos are ranked 15th).

Despite the loss, Central still got an impressive performance from Na'Jae Stevenson, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and 22 rebounds. Those 22 boards gave Stevenson a new career-high. Stanley Makely was another key player, putting up eight points and five rebounds.

Even though they lost, Central smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive boards in three consecutive contests.

Central dropped their record down to 14-7 with the loss, which was their fourth straight on the road. As for Clovis North, the victory was the fourth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 17-4.

Central has already played their next game, a 63-55 win against Corcoran on the 18th. As for Clovis North, they will take on Buchanan at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Buchanan has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.