The matchup between the Cristo Rey Tampa Panthers and the Brandon Academy Scorpions on Thursday hardly resembled the 2-0 effort from their previous meeting. Cristo Rey Tampa took a serious blow against Brandon Academy, falling 87-19. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest points Cristo Rey Tampa has scored all season.
Despite the loss, Cristo Rey Tampa still got an impressive performance from Bryan Vargas, who scored nine points. That was a full 47.4% of Cristo Rey Tampa's points, marking the fourth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Elvis Ramirez-Lake was another key contributor, scoring two points along with two steals.
It was another big night for Shavon Birch, who dropped a double-double on 25 points and ten rebounds for Brandon Academy. Birch has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last five times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Jeremiah McNeely, who scored 14 points along with five steals.
Cristo Rey Tampa's defeat dropped their record down to 3-7. As for Brandon Academy, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 5-10 record this season.
Cristo Rey Tampa will look to defend their home court on Tuesday against Tampa Bay Christian Academy at 6:00 p.m. Brandon Academy will be staying on the road on Friday to face off against Canterbury at 7:00 p.m. on January 12th. Canterbury is coming into the game on a four-game losing streak.
