The Celeste Blue Devils came tearing into Thursday's matchup with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 17 points) and they left with even more momentum. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 61-59 victory over Boles. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Despite the loss, Boles still got an impressive performance from Jonathan Cruthird, who dropped a double-double on 26 points and 12 rebounds. Cruthird scored a full 44.1% of Boles' points, the sixth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Kole Lively, who scored three points along with eight assists and three steals.
Celeste has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 7-7 record this season. As for Boles, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 11-8.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Celeste won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against McLeod at 2:20 p.m. on December 29, 2023. McLeod will be looking to keep their nine-game home win streak alive. As for Boles, they will head out on the road to face off against North Hopkins at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday. North Hopkins presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than Boles in Texas (North Hopkins is ranked 359th, while Boles is ranked 834th).
