Two dominant guards in Collin Jefferson and Jay Matthews are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The John Carroll Catholic Rams and the Cocoa Beach Minutemen will face off at 7:00 p.m. on January 23rd without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: John Carroll Catholic has struggled recently with four defeats in a row, while Cocoa Beach will arrive with four straight victories.
John Carroll Catholic struggled with offensive rebounds on Friday (Westwood had seven more) and sadly the final score reflected it. John Carroll Catholic took a 54-45 hit to the loss column at the hands of Westwood.
Despite the loss, John Carroll Catholic got a solid performance out of Caden Johnson, who scored 18 points along with six rebounds and five steals. Johnson continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Jefferson, who scored eight points along with three steals.
Even though Cocoa Beach has not done well against Satellite recently (they were 0-9 in their previous nine matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Saturday. Cocoa Beach enjoyed a cozy 52-38 win over Satellite. The win was all the more spectacular given Cocoa Beach's disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 481st, while Satellite is ranked 174th).
It was another big night for Matthews, who scored 18 points along with eight rebounds and six steals. He hasn't dropped below 15points for four straight games. Max Louis was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with 15 rebounds and three blocks.
John Carroll Catholic bumped their record down to 7-12 with that defeat, which was their fourth straight at home. As for Cocoa Beach, their win bumped their record up to 11-7.
Tuesday's contest is shaping up to be a scrappy contest: John Carroll Catholic have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 24.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Cocoa Beach struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 34.1 rebounds per game. Given John Carroll Catholic's sizeable advantage in that area, Cocoa Beach will need to find a way to close that gap.
Everything came up roses for John Carroll Catholic against Cocoa Beach in their previous matchup back in December of 2021 as the squad secured a 66-24 win. With John Carroll Catholic ahead 39-10 at the half, the game was all but over already.
