The Aquinas Institute Little Irish stacked a sixth blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Thursday. Everything went their way against Vertus as Aquinas Institute made off with a 81-61 victory. Given Aquinas Institute's advantage in MaxPreps' New York basketball rankings (they are ranked 24th, while Vertus is ranked 527th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Despite the loss, Vertus saw an underclassman step up: Talhah Ali scored 20 points along with six assists and five steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Dah'mere Brown, who scored ten points.
Aquinas Institute's victory was their 13th straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-1. As for Vertus, they have not been sharp recently, as they've lost five of their last six games, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-9 record this season.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Aquinas Institute won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against Hornell at 6:30 p.m. on January 19th. Vertus on the road again on Tuesday and play against Northstar Christian Academy at 6:00 p.m. on January 23rd. One thing working in Northstar Christian Academy's favor is that they have posted big point totals every time they've taken the court this season.
