The South Bend Washington Panthers pushed their score all the way to 57 on Saturday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell 66-57 to Valparaiso. While losing is never fun, South Bend Washington can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 115th, while Valparaiso is ranked 28th).
South Bend Washington's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Steven Reynolds 3, who scored 21 points along with eight rebounds and five steals. Reynolds 3 has been hot recently, having posted 15 or more points the last five times he's played. Another player making a difference was Donovan Johnson, who scored 14 points along with two steals and two blocks.
Valparaiso was led to victory by Alec Platipodis and Jack Smiley. Platipodis scored 18 points along with eight rebounds, while Smiley scored 16 points along with nine assists. That's the first time this season that Platipodis scored 15 or more points. The team also got some help courtesy of Julian Stokes, who scored eight points along with ten rebounds.
South Bend Washington has been struggling recently, as they've lost five of their last six matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-6 record this season. As for Valparaiso, they pushed their record up to 12-4 with that victory, which was their seventh straight at home.
South Bend Washington will take on Mishawaka Marian at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. As for Valparaiso, they will head out on the road to square off against Merrillville at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Merrillville has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 856 points over their last 13 matches.
