It may have taken overtime to finish the job, but the Allen Academy Rams ultimately got the result they hoped for on Friday. They pulled ahead with a 63-62 photo finish over O'Connell. The victory was just what Allen Academy needed coming off of a 67-42 loss in their prior game.
O'Connell's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Derrick Kirks jr, who scored 27 points along with six assists and five steals, and Jarrius Smith who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 14 rebounds. That was a full 43.5% of O'Connell's points, marking the fourth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Lonndon Beal was another key contributor, scoring ten points along with two steals.
Allen Academy's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 7-9. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 57.0 points per game. As for O'Connell, their loss dropped their record down to 14-9.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Allen Academy will have some time to savor their victory since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Covenant Christian at 7:00 p.m. on January 23rd. As for O'Connell, they will head out on the road to challenge Legacy Christian Academy at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday.
