The St. Joseph Spartans scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Tuesday. They strolled past Geibel Catholic with points to spare, taking the game 67-48. The win was a breath of fresh air for St. Joseph as it put an end to their three-game losing streak.
St. Joseph got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Gabe Maltese out in front who went 6 for 7 from beyond the arc en route to 26 points and 0 assists. That makes it three consecutive games in which Maltese has scored at least a third of St. Joseph's points. Another player making a difference was Anthony Zavolta, who scored 22 points.
Several Gators players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Tommy Kolencik, who scored 16 points along with eight rebounds and six blocks. Mike Miller was another key contributor, scoring 11 points along with eight assists and six rebounds.
He wasn't the only one working in the assists department: Geibel Catholic were working as a unit and finished the game with 16 assists. This was only their tenth loss (out of ten games) when they've passed the ball that well.
St. Joseph's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 3-13. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.0 points per game. As for Geibel Catholic, they still haven't won a game yet this season and fell to 0-17.
St. Joseph won't have much time to rest: their next match is against the at 7:30 p.m. on January 24th. Sewickley Academy presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than the Spartans in Pennsylvania (the are ranked 343rd, while the Spartans are ranked 706th). As for Geibel Catholic, they will head out on the road to face off against the Greyhounds at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Monessen's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last 11 games.
