Basketball Recap: First Coast Comes Up Short

It was a good run, but First Coast unfortunately witnessed the end of their seven-game winning streak on Friday. They took a blow against the Ribault Trojans, falling 83-51. While losing is never fun, the Buccaneers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 256th, while the Trojans are ranked 44th).

First Coast lost despite a true team effort on offense, the best among them being Amari Walton, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 14 rebounds. Walton is crushing it when it comes to rebounds: he's pulled down at least ten every time he's taken the court this season. Jayden Howard was another key player, putting up 13 points and three steals.

Even though they lost, First Coast smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive boards in 11 consecutive matches.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Ribault to victory, but perhaps none more so than Jamian Jackson, who went 7 of 11 on his way to 14 points along with seven assists and five boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Kaden Toure, who went 7 of 16 on his way to 17 points and five rebounds.

First Coast's defeat dropped their record down to 7-5. As for Ribault, the victory (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 9-2.

First Coast didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 64-62 loss against Raines on the 28th. As for Ribault, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next contest, a 65-52 defeat against Andrew Jackson on the 28th.