Joplin is on a four-game streak of home losses, St. James Academy a six-game streak of away losses, but someone's luck is about to change. The Joplin Eagles will take on the St. James Academy Thunder at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
Joplin suffered their biggest loss since December 22, 2023 on Tuesday. They were the victim of a rough 74-50 defeat at the hands of Central. While losing is never fun, Joplin can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Missouri basketball rankings (they are ranked 326th, while Central is ranked seventh).
Meanwhile, St. James Academy came up short against Bishop Carroll on Saturday and fell 61-51.
Joplin's defeat dropped their record down to 3-16. As for St. James Academy, their loss dropped their record down to 1-10.
Joplin beat St. James Academy 67-56 in their previous meeting back in January of 2023. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was St. James Academy's Brian Hawthorne, who scored 27 points along with seven rebounds and five assists. Now that he won't be playing on Saturday, will it be that much easier for Joplin to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
