Monroe and Cedar Grove squared off in some playoff action on Friday, but Monroe had to settle for second. They took a 53-45 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Cedar Grove Saints. While losing is never fun, the Golden Tornadoes can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Georgia basketball rankings (they are ranked 58th, while the Saints are ranked ninth).
Despite the loss, Monroe still got an impressive performance from Brayden Burns, who made all 7 shots he took for 17 points and eight boards. Burns is also on a roll when it comes to field goal percentage, as he's posted one of at least 57% in the last seven games he's played. Lorenzo Still was another key player, putting up 12 points.
Cedar Grove's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Emanuel Green, who posted 18 points. That makes it three consecutive games in which Green has scored at least a third of Cedar Grove's points. Another player making a difference was Yusef Bowyer, who earned 13 points.
Golden Tornadoes
| 02/28/25 vs Cedar Grove | 45-53 |
| 02/26/25 vs Jefferson | 73-43 |
| 02/26/25 vs Jefferson | 73-43 |
| 02/22/25 vs Pickens | 63-58 |
| 02/19/25 vs Gilmer | 68-43 |
The loss snapped Monroe's winning streak at eight games and leaves them with a 22-10 record. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 24.4 points. As for Cedar Grove, the victory (which was their 20th in a row) raised their record to 28-3.
Monroe does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Cedar Grove, they will challenge Sandy Creek at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Cedar Grove is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 70.1 points per game this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
