After a string of three wins, the Serra Catholic Eagles's good fortune finally ran out on Tuesday. They fell 71-59 to Ellwood City. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as Serra Catholic came into the game with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 112th, while Ellwood City is ranked 388th).
Serra Catholic's loss came despite strong showings from Pete Burke and Owen Dumbroski. Burke scored 24 points along with seven rebounds and six steals, while Dumbroski scored 20 points along with six assists and five rebounds. Burke scored a full 40.7% of Serra Catholic's points, the third time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Tyler Sapida was another key contributor, scoring seven points along with six rebounds.
Even though they lost, Serra Catholic were working as a unit and finished the game with ten assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Ellwood City only racked up 26 assists.
It was another big night for Joseph Roth, who dropped a triple-double on 29 points, 16 rebounds, and ten assists for Ellwood City. The match was Roth's sixth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Colten Crizer, who scored 16 points along with nine assists and five rebounds.
Serra Catholic's loss dropped their record down to 3-2. As for Ellwood City, their win bumped their record up to 2-4.
Serra Catholic will be staying on the road on Friday to face off against Jeannette at 7:30 p.m. on December 15th. Ellwood City will be home for the holidays to greet New Brighton at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
