Basketball Recap: Noah Jones' Big Game Can't Quite Lead Pensacola over West Florida

Pensacola fought the good fight in their overtime contest against West Florida on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell to the West Florida Jaguars 62-58. The Tigers have struggled against the Jaguars recently, as the game was their third consecutive lost matchup.

Pensacola's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Noah Jones, who almost dropped a double-double on ten points and nine rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Jones a new career-high in steals (five). Jabari Epps was another key player, going 7 for 15 on his way to 17 points and three steals.

West Florida got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Brayden Justice out in front who went 5 of 10 on his way to 15 points in addition to six rebounds and five steals. Another player making a difference was Frank Likely, who went 5 of 9 on his way to 12 points and eight rebounds.

Pensacola's defeat dropped their record down to 3-6. As for West Florida, their win ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 3-7.

Pensacola and West Florida could both be facing uphill battles in their next games considering their disadvantage in the MaxPreps Florida Rankings. Pensacola (ranked 518th) will meet Orange Beach (ranked 186th) at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday. Similarly, West Florida (ranked 571st) will meet St. Paul's Episcopal (ranked 132nd) at 1:00 p.m. on December 26th.