The Neville Tigers pushed their score all the way to 55 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell to Peabody 59-55. While losing is never fun, Neville can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Louisiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 54th, while Peabody is ranked third).
Neville lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Travone Varner, who scored 15 points along with six assists and five rebounds. Travis Lynch was another key contributor, scoring ten points along with three blocks.
Peabody was led to victory by Rashad Mitchell and Justin Burns. Mitchell scored 20 points along with six rebounds and five assists, while Burns dropped a double-double on 22 points and 18 rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Jordan Mathews, who scored seven points along with five rebounds and three blocks.
Neville's loss ended a six-game streak of away wins and brought them to 12-8. As for Peabody, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 11 of their last 12 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 19-3 record this season.
Neville will be playing in front of their home fans against Grant at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Grant is hoping to put an end to a six-game streak of away losses. Peabody won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Huntington at 4:00 p.m. on January 13th. Huntington is coming into the game on a three-game losing streak.
