The Navarre Raiders suffered their closest loss yet this season on Tuesday. They fell just short of Choctawhatchee by a score of 77-75. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their last game last Friday (64), Navarre still had to take the loss.
When it comes to explaining why Navarre lost, one person who can't be blamed is Darius Cunningham. Despite the final result, he dropped a double-double on 40 points and ten rebounds. That was a full 53.3% of Navarre's points, marking the fourth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of David Clearman, who scored eight points along with five rebounds and two blocks.
Choctawhatchee's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Isaac Hancey, who scored 19 points along with six rebounds and five steals. Hancey is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last four games he's played. Another player making a difference was Keymaury1 Allen, who scored 16 points along with nine rebounds and two steals.
This is the second loss in a row for Navarre and nudges their season record down to 10-9. As for Choctawhatchee, their victory ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 9-7.
Navarre will be playing in front of their home fans against Pace at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Pace is hoping to put an end to a five-game streak of away losses. Choctawhatchee won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against Booker T. Washington at 7:15 p.m. on January 17th. Hopefully Booker T. Washington focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 18 last Saturday.
