Basketball Recap: First Academy Comes Up Short

First Academy was not able to break out of their rough patch on Monday as the team picked up their fifth straight defeat. They were three points away from ending the streak, but they lost a 64-61 heartbreaker at the hands of the Hernando Christian Academy Lions. Sadly, that's the second time they've come up short against the Eagles this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 57-40 back in December of 2024.

When it comes to explaining why First Academy lost, don't look at Logan Stalvey. Despite the final result, he dropped a double-double on 21 points and 18 boards. The dominant performance gave Stalvey a new career-high in points. Another player making a difference was Tzuri Smith, who went 7 for 12 en route to 18 points.

Jaden Montzka was his usual excellent self, going 6 of 10 from beyond the arc on his way to 23 points along with eight rebounds and four steals for Hernando Christian Academy. Jason Tarvin was another key player, putting up 12 points.

First Academy's loss dropped their record down to 3-14. As for Hernando Christian Academy, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 4-10.

Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. First Academy will square off against Wildwood at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Wildwood knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past six matchups -- so hopefully First Academy likes a good challenge. As for Hernando Christian Academy, they and Seven Rivers Christian will face off at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday without much rest having both just played. Hernando Christian Academy has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.