The Northwestern Bulls's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Saturday after their third straight loss. They fell 67-57 to Hialeah Educational Academy. While losing is never fun, Northwestern can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 112th, while Hialeah Educational Academy is ranked 30th).
Despite the defeat, Northwestern saw an underclassman step up: Calvin Russel dropped a double-double on 24 points and 14 rebounds. Russel scored a full 42.1% of Northwestern's points, the 11th time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jakeel Baker, who scored 11 points.
Hialeah Educational Academy got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Reece Randolph out in front who scored 27 points. The match was Randolph's seventh in a row with at least ten points. Isaiah Renaud was another key contributor, scoring 14 points along with seven rebounds.
Northwestern has been struggling recently, as they've lost four of their last five contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-4 record this season. As for Hialeah Educational Academy, the win was the sixth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 12-4.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Northwestern is on the road again on Monday and play against Doral Academy at 7:30 p.m. on January 8th. Doral Academy has insisted on making their lastthree contests complete nail-biters, turning in a record of 1-2 during that stretch of close contests. As for Hialeah Educational Academy, they will head out on the road to face off against Sagemont at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Sagemont has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 598 points over their last eight contests.
