The Cristo Rey Royals will wrap up 2024 with a road trip to face off against the Hopewell Blue Devils at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Cristo Rey is looking for their season's first win.
Cristo Rey came up into this matchup off a tough 43-point defeat last Monday. This time they kept things ultra-competitive, but unfortunately the final result was the same. They fell just short of Banner Christian by a score of 59-57 on Thursday.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Jemell Smith, who posted 17 points. Jab Scott was another key player, putting up 16 points.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Hopewell, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Thursday. They put the hurt on Massaponax with a sharp 73-53 victory on Saturday. The Blue Devils have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven matchups by 20 points or more this season.
Hopewell's win came from a few key players Cristo Rey will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Deshawn Spellman, who went 8 of 13 on his way to 20 points and five assists. His evening made it eight games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Nick Byrd, who went 6 of 9 on his way to 19 points and five assists.
Hopewell's win was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 7-1. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 28.5 points. As for Cristo Rey, their loss dropped their record down to 0-9.
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