After a string of three wins, the Clearwater Central Catholic Marauders's good fortune finally ran out on Thursday. They took a 63-56 hit to the loss column at the hands of Northside Christian. Having run the score up that high, both teams might be doing some extra defensive drills very soon.
When it comes to explaining why Clearwater Central Catholic lost, one person who can't be blamed is Maxwell Messa. Despite the final result, he scored 23 points along with nine rebounds. That's the first time this season that Messa pulled down eight or more rebounds. Another player making a difference was Gio Sciandra, who scored 17 points.
Even though they lost, Clearwater Central Catholic smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Northside Christian found their leader in underclassman Elijah Ahlers, who scored 18 points along with eight rebounds and two steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Cailon Kaigler, who scored 18 points.
Clearwater Central Catholic's loss dropped their record down to 12-6. As for Northside Christian, their win ended a four-game drought on the road and puts them at 2-10.
Clearwater Central Catholic will take on Shorecrest Prep at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Shorecrest Prep is strutting with some offensive muscle, as they've averaged 50.8 points per game. Northside Christian won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Hernando Christian Academy at 6:30 p.m. on January 12th. Hernando Christian Academy is coming into the game on a three-game losing streak.
