Basketball Recap: Jackson-Reed Falls Despite Big Games from Diego Joy and Josiah Massaquoi

Jackson-Reed has been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They fell 64-56 to the Neumann-Goretti Saints on Friday. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as the Tigers came into the match with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked fifth in District of Columbia, while the Saints are ranked 52nd in Pennsylvania).

Josiah Massaquoi and Diego Joy certainly did their best on Friday to avoid the loss. Massaquoi dropped a double-double on 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Joy dropped a double-double on 14 points and 11 rebounds. Massaquoi is becoming a predictor of Jackson-Reed's success: when he posts at least ten rebounds the team is 6-1 (and 1-2 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Pete Newman, who posted nine points.

Jackson-Reed's defeat dropped their record down to 7-3. As for Neumann-Goretti, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a nice bump to their 4-3 record this season.

Jackson-Reed didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 76-72 loss against Southern California Academy on the 28th. As for Neumann-Goretti, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next matchup, a 90-85 defeat against Mt. Zion Prep Academy on the 28th.