The Armstrong River Hawks pushed their score all the way to 62 on Wednesday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell 71-62 to Wheeling Central Catholic. While losing is never fun, Armstrong can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 112th in Pennsylvania, while Wheeling Central Catholic is ranked sixth in West Virginia).
Armstrong's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jack Valasek, who scored 20 points. The contest was Valasek's fourth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Ian Olsen, who scored 18 points along with five rebounds.
This is the second loss in a row for Armstrong and nudges their season record down to 6-3. As for Wheeling Central Catholic, the win for they keeps them at an undefeated 6-0.
Armstrong won't have much time to rest: their next game is against Hereford on December 28th. Wheeling Central Catholic will wrap up 2023 with a road trip to face off against Southern at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday.
