The Goretti Gael waltzed into their contest on Friday with two straight wins but they left with three. They came out on top against New Hope Academy by a score of 66-56. Given Goretti's advantage in MaxPreps' Maryland basketball rankings (they are ranked 23rd, while New Hope Academy is ranked 92nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Despite the loss, New Hope Academy still got an impressive performance from DJ Thomas, who scored 19 points. Thomas has been hot recently, having posted 15 or more points the last four times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Uriah Augare-Deal, who scored seven points along with six rebounds and two steals.
Goretti is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 9-6 record this season. As for New Hope Academy, they now have a losing record at 15-16.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Goretti will challenge Calvert Hall at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday. Calvert Hall knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past three contests -- so hopefully Goretti likes a good challenge. As for New Hope Academy, New Hope Academy and Fairfax Christian will face off at 7:00 p.m. on January 31st without much rest after finishing up games yesterday.
