The Innovation Montessori Panthers entered their tilt with the St. John Lutheran Saints with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. Innovation Montessori secured a 49-43 W over St. John Lutheran on Friday.
Innovation Montessori can attribute much of their success to Shalom Barnes, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 12 rebounds. Barnes has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last eight times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Trevor Thorsen, who scored 13 points.
Several Saints players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Brody Gravante, who scored 11 points along with nine assists and two steals. That's the first time this season that Gravante posted eight or more assists. Cage Patrick was another key contributor, scoring 11 points.
Even though they lost, St. John Lutheran were working as a unit and finished the game with 14 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Innovation Montessori's win ended a 20-game drought on the road and puts them at 4-11. As for St. John Lutheran, they have been struggling recently, as they've lost nine of their last ten matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 2-12 record this season.
Innovation Montessori won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against Babcock at 1:30 p.m. on January 20th. Babcock will be looking to extend their current five-game winning streak. As for St. John Lutheran, they will be playing at home against Hart 2 Hart Academy at 6:30 p.m. on Monday.
