Basketball Recap: Blake Suttle's Big Game Can't Quite Lead East Rutherford over Northwest Cabarrus

East Rutherford was not able to break out of their rough patch on Monday as the team picked up their fifth straight defeat. Their2024 ended with a 61-46 loss against the Northwest Cabarrus Trojans. While losing is never fun, the Cavaliers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 537th, while the Trojans are ranked 221st).

East Rutherford's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Blake Suttle, who almost dropped a double-double on ten points and nine rebounds. Suttle is also on a roll when it comes to blocks, as he's now posted two or more in the last four games he's played. Eli Roof was another key player, putting up eight points along with five rebounds and five steals.

East Rutherford's loss dropped their record down to 2-10. As for Northwest Cabarrus, they have been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 7-4 record this season.

Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. East Rutherford will welcome Patton at 8:00 p.m. on January 7th. Patton knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past three matchups -- so hopefully East Rutherford likes a good challenge. As for Northwest Cabarrus, they will be playing in front of their home fans against West Rowan at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. West Rowan has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.