Basketball Recap: St. John Paul II Takes Loss Despite Strong Efforts from Cruz Fontenot and Mario Forbes

St. John Paul II was not able to break out of their rough patch on Saturday as the team picked up their fifth straight loss. They fell 65-56 to the Gainesville Hurricanes. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 355th, while the Hurricanes are ranked 87th).

St. John Paul II's loss came despite strong showings from Mario Forbes and Cruz Fontenot. Forbes almost dropped a double-double on 20 points and nine rebounds, while Fontenot went 6 of 9 from beyond the arc on his way to 20 points and five rebounds. Forbes is crushing it when it comes to rebounds: he's pulled down at least nine every time he's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Julian Thompson, who posted nine points and five rebounds.

Even though they lost, St. John Paul II was working as a unit and finished the game with ten assists. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their assist total in three consecutive contests.

St. John Paul II now has a losing record at 7-8. As for Gainesville, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 13-6.

Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. A feisty cat fight will be fought when the St. John Paul II Panthers duke it out with the Munroe Bobcats at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Munroe will roll in looking for their fourth straight victory, something St. John Paul II surely won't give up without a fight. As for Gainesville, they will venture away from home to challenge P.K. Yonge at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Gainesville has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.