On Monday, the School Without Walls Penguins faced the Parkside Eagles in a battle between two of the state's top teams. School Without Walls took a 73-61 hit to the loss column at the hands of Parkside. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game last Wednesday (59), School Without Walls still had to take the loss.
School Without Walls' defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Paul Joire, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 11 rebounds. Joire is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as he's now pulled down eight or more in the last three games he's played. Tahkari Bates was another key contributor, scoring 16 points along with two blocks.
Even though they lost, School Without Walls were working as a unit and finished the game with 14 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
It was another big night for Semaj Marshall, who scored 23 points for Parkside. Another player making a difference was Markeese Coles, who scored 12 points.
School Without Walls' loss dropped their record down to 6-4. As for Parkside, they pushed their record up to 12-7 with that victory, which was their third straight at home.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. School Without Walls' road trip will continue as they head out to face McKinley Tech at 7:00 p.m. on January 17th. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in District of Columbia (McKinley Tech is ranked 11th, while School Without Walls is ranked 19th). As for Parkside, they will head out on the road to square off against Thurgood Marshall Academy at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Thurgood Marshall Academy is still on the hunt for that elusive first 'W'.
