Basketball Recap: Hopewell Comes Up Short in High-Profile Match with John Marshall

On Thursday, Hopewell faced John Marshall in a battle between two of the state's top teams. The Hopewell Blue Devils might have been a little too into the holiday spirit, gifting the John Marshall Justices an easy 77-57 victory. The game marked the Blue Devils' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.

When it comes to explaining why Hopewell lost, don't look at Deshawn Spellman. Despite the final result, he went 8 of 14 on his way to 21 points. The matchup was Spellman's seventh in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Nick Byrd, who went 5 for 10 on his way to 14 points and five assists.

John Marshall's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Aiden Argabright, who went 8 of 16 on his way to 22 points and four blocks. Argabright is crushing it when it comes to points: he's scored at least 16 every time he's taken the court this season. Latrell Allmond was another key player, putting up 14 points along with eight rebounds and four steals.

With the loss, Hopewell broke their six-game winning streak and moved their record to 6-1. As for John Marshall, the win keeps them at an undefeated 6-0.

Hopewell wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next contest, a 73-53 victory against Massaponax on the 21st. As for John Marshall, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 67-41 win against Hayfield on the 21st.