The St. Joseph Christian Lions had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 27.8 points), and they went ahead and made it six on Thursday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Meadville 62-59. Given St. Joseph Christian's advantage in MaxPreps' Missouri basketball rankings (they are ranked 93rd, while Meadville is ranked 302nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Mason Dennis and Gauge Shiflett certainly did their best on Thursday to try and avoid the loss. Dennis scored 22 points along with five rebounds and three steals, while Shiflett scored 17 points along with nine rebounds. Shiflett has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last three times he's played. Donivan Schreckhise was another key contributor, scoring 11 points along with nine rebounds.
St. Joseph Christian pushed their record up to 11-1 with that victory, which was their fifth straight at home. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 73.8 points per game. As for Meadville, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 4-6.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. St. Joseph Christian will square off against Albany at 7:30 p.m. on January 5, 2024. Meadville's road trip will continue as they head out to face South Shelby at 4:30 p.m. on January 2, 2024.
