The St. John Paul II Panthers lost to the Gadsden County Jaguars last Friday, but the St. John Paul II Panthers didn't allow the Gadsden County Jaguars the same satisfaction on Thursday. St. John Paul II secured a 51-45 W over Gadsden County. The win made it back-to-back wins for St. John Paul II.
St. John Paul II's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Cayden King, who scored 17 points along with five rebounds and four steals. The match was King's fifth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Mario Forbes, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 17 rebounds.
Several Jaguars players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Nasir Williams, who scored six points along with 20 rebounds and three steals. Williams is absolutely dominating the rebound category: he's posted at least eight every time he's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Zion Peterson, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 18 rebounds.
St. John Paul II pushed their record up to 4-3 with that win, which was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 58.0 points per game. As for Gadsden County, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-2.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. St. John Paul II will challenge Crossroad Academy at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. Crossroad Academy presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than St. John Paul II in Florida (Crossroad Academy is ranked 227th, while St. John Paul II is ranked 455th). Gadsden County is on the road again on Thursday and play against Lincoln at 7:00 p.m. on December 14th.
