Joppa-Maple Grove was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their 31st straight defeat dating back to last season. They lost 87-61 to the Meridian Bobcats. While losing is never fun, the Rangers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 765th, while the Bobcats are ranked 240th).
Joppa-Maple Grove lost despite a true team effort on offense, the best among them being Aiden Messer, who went 7 for 13 on his way to 15 points. Messer is trending in the right direction considering he's improved his point production for three straight games. Another player making a difference was Marcus Stallings, who posted 15 points.
Meridian got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was AJ Flenoid out in front who went 6 of 9 en route to 14 points and five steals. Flenoid is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last ten games he's played. Gregory Johnson also deserves some recognition as he posted his first block of the season.
Joppa-Maple Grove's loss dropped their record down to 0-14. As for Meridian, their victory was their 13th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 11-5.
Joppa-Maple Grove wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next match, a 77-63 defeat against Century on the 13th. As for Meridian, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, an 82-37 win against Dongola on the 16th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
