The Holy Name Green Wave pushed their score all the way to 67 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell just short of Padua Franciscan by a score of 69-67. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as Holy Name came into the contest with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 169th, while Padua Franciscan is ranked 695th).
Padua Franciscan's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Gio Roman, who scored 15 points along with six rebounds. Another player making a difference was JT Giannakopoulos, who scored 17 points along with six rebounds.
This is the second loss in a row for Holy Name and nudges their season record down to 4-5. As for Padua Franciscan, their victory ended a seven-game drought at home dating back to last season and bumped them up to 1-4.
Holy Name will get a bit of extra time to process the loss as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on Valley Forge at 7:00 p.m. on January 5, 2024. Padua Franciscan will wrap up 2023 with a road trip to face off against Benedictine at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. That game will pit two of the most dominant guards against one another: Kris Smith and Riley Cervenka.
