Basketball Recap: Ballou Comes Up Short in High-Profile Match with Mckinley Tech

On Friday, Ballou faced McKinley Tech in a battle between two of the state's top teams. The Ballou Knights took a 56-52 hit to the loss column at the hands of the McKinley Tech Trainers. The Knights were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Trainers apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in January of 2024.

Despite the loss, Ballou still got an impressive performance from Antonio King, who posted 13 points in addition to seven boards and six assists. Khashyne Acevedo also deserves some recognition as he posted his first block of the season.

King wasn't the only one working in the assists department: Ballou was working as a unit and finished the game with 15 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as McKinley Tech only posted four assists.

McKinley Tech was led to victory by DaMontae Neclos and Marcus Dunbar. Neclos had 23 points, while Dunbar put up 23 points and seven rebounds. The match was Neclos' fifth in a row with at least ten points.

Ballou has traveled a rocky road recently having lost five of their last six games, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-6 record this season. As for McKinley Tech, the win was the seventh in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 12-1.

Ballou has already played their next contest, a 60-55 victory against Banneker on the 13th. As for McKinley Tech, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next match, a 78-58 win against Georgetown Day on the 11th.