Basketball Recap: Derrius Black's Big Game Can't Quite Lead American over Belen Jesuit

American has been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They were four points away from ending the streak, but they lost a 58-54 heartbreaker at the hands of the Belen Jesuit Wolverines. If the Patriots were looking for revenge after losing 52-50 to them when the teams met on Saturday, then they'll just have to keep looking.

Derrius Black

Rebounds

01/04/25 vs Belen Jesuit	9
01/03/25 vs Florida Christian	8
01/02/25 vs Ferguson	16

American lost despite a true team effort on offense, the best among them being Derrius Black, who almost dropped a double-double on 15 points and nine boards. Black has been hot recently, having posted eight or more boards the last three times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Zephaniah Pratt, who posted 13 points and four steals.

Belen Jesuit found their leader in sophomore Orlando Roche, who went 9 of 13 on his way to 20 points. Alec Arnholt was another key player, putting up ten points and seven rebounds.

American's record is now 9-5. As for Belen Jesuit, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 9-5 record this season.

American wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next match, a 48-37 win against Jackson on the 7th. As for Belen Jesuit, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 65-35 loss against Palmetto on the 7th.