St. John Paul II was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their eighth straight defeat. They took a 59-50 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Godby Cougars. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 383rd, while the Cougars are ranked 85th).
When it comes to explaining why St. John Paul II lost, don't look at Mario Forbes. Despite the final result, he dropped a double-double on 24 points and 19 rebounds. That was a full 48% of St. John Paul II's points, marking the fourth time in a row he's posted more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Aaron Nixon, who scored six points and five boards.

Panthers
01/16/25 @ Godby | 50-59 |
01/15/25 vs Crossroad Academy | 46-57 |
01/14/25 @ Munroe | 52-59 |
01/11/25 vs Gainesville | 56-65 |
01/10/25 vs Leon | 45-76 |
+ 3 more games |
Even though they lost, St. John Paul II smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 12 offensive rebounds in three consecutive contests.
Godby's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Mekhi Butler, who put up 18 points and five rebounds. Another player making a difference was Lazarus Chambers, who earned 12 points in addition to five boards and three steals.
St. John Paul II's loss dropped their record down to 7-11. As for Godby, their win bumped their record up to 13-5.
A feisty cat fight is on tap when the St. John Paul II Panthers challenge the Gadsden County Jaguars at 7:30 p.m. on January 23rd. St. John Paul II is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 55 points per game this season. As for Godby, they didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 63-30 victory against Rutherford on the 18th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps