Even though the Lovejoy Wildcats scored an imposing 58 points on Friday, the Jonesboro Cardinals still came out on top. Jonesboro took down the Wildcats 76-58. Given Jonesboro's advantage in MaxPreps' Georgia basketball rankings (they are ranked 86th, while the Wildcats are ranked 282nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Tyson Miller had an outrageously good game as he scored 18 points along with six rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points he has scored all season. Montez Redding was another key contributor, scoring 19 points along with five assists.
Lovejoy's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Malichi Ford, who scored five points along with three steals.
Lovejoy struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only two offensive rebounds. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Jonesboro pulled down 18 offensive rebounds.
Jonesboro has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 14-9 record this season. As for Lovejoy, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 7-10.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Jonesboro and the Panthers will face off at 7:30 p.m. on January 30th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Forest Park has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games. As for Lovejoy, they won't have much time to rest: their next game is against the Tigers at 1:30 p.m. on January 27th. Alcovy is coming into the game on a four-game losing streak.
