Basketball Recap: Willie Griggs Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat Trinity Catholic

Hope Academy had to skate by with only a two-point margin when they last took the court, which might have inspired the 23-point drubbing they dealt Trinity Catholic on Tuesday. The Hope Academy Trojan Tigers put the hurt on the Trinity Catholic Celtics with a sharp 72-49 win. Given the Trojan Tigers' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 165th, while the Celtics are ranked 407th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Hope Academy to victory, but perhaps none more so than Willie Griggs, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 12 rebounds. Griggs is also on a roll when it comes to blocks, as he's now posted two or more in the last 30 games he's played dating back to last season. Dwayne Foreman III was another key player, going 5 for 11 on his way to 15 points in addition to eight assists and three steals.

Hope Academy was working as a unit and finished the game with 18 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Trinity Catholic only posted 12 assists.

Despite the defeat, Trinity Catholic saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Xavier Serrano went 5 of 8 en route to 10 points. Another player making a difference was Jadiel Jimenez, who almost dropped a double-double on nine points and ten boards.

Hope Academy pushed their record up to 16-5 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 75.0 points per game. As for Trinity Catholic, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 7-10.

Hope Academy has already played their next game, a 73-72 loss against South Lake on the 16th. As for Trinity Catholic, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 69-58 win against Umatilla on the 17th.