Florence has been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They came up short against the Valley Christian Trojans on Thursday, falling 90-65. While losing is never fun, the Gophers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 61st, while the Trojans are ranked 11th).
Despite the loss, Florence saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Brody Ramirez went 8 of 10 en route to 25 points and five boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Logan Stenson, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and ten rebounds.
Gophers
| 01/23/25 @ Valley Christian | 65-90 |
| 01/17/25 vs Coolidge | 44-48 |
Even though they lost, Florence smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in five consecutive contests.
Valley Christian's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Colby Jessup led the charge by going 12 for 21 on his way to 35 points and seven boards. Jessup's evening made it 15 games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Kyle Grier, who went 10 of 17 en route to 25 points.
Florence's defeat ended a five-game streak of away wins and brought them to 18-2. As for Valley Christian, the win (which was their ninth in a row) raised their record to 17-3.
Florence has already played their next game, an 86-69 victory against Globe on the 27th. As for Valley Christian, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next matchup, a 76-52 win against Gilbert Christian on the 25th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
