It's hard to turn regular season success into postseason wins, a fact Port St. Joe can now relate to. They took a 68-56 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Crossroad Academy Scorpions on Friday. The loss continues a trend for the Tiger Sharks in their matchups with the Scorpions: they've now lost five in a row.
Port St. Joe's defeat came despite a true team effort with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Justus Barber, who almost dropped a double-double on ten points and nine rebounds. That's the most points Barber has posted since back in December of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Jayden Reese, who put up 15 points.
Even though they lost, Port St. Joe smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in four consecutive matches.
Crossroad Academy's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Tyrek Jessie, who went 7 of 8 on his way to 16 points and five assists. Forrest Dudley was another key player, going 6 for 9 to rack up 17 points.
Port St. Joe's loss dropped their record down to 21-5. As for Crossroad Academy, the win (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 14-9.
The two teams are set to take part in some playoff action in their next matches. Port St. Joe will square off against Munroe at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Port St. Joe knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past nine games -- so hopefully Munroe likes a good challenge. As for Crossroad Academy, they will challenge Blountstown at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Blountstown is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 56.6 points per game this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
