Basketball Recap: Jake Stuckey's Big Game Can't Quite Lead the Park School of Buffalo over St. Francis

The Park School of Buffalo easily dispatched International Prep at Grover last Tuesday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. The Park School of Buffalo Pioneers fell just short of the St. Francis Red Raiders by a score of 58-56 on Friday. The Pioneers were up 34-20 in the second quarter but couldn't hold on to the lead.

Several Pioneers players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Jake Stuckey, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 13 rebounds. Stuckey has been hot recently, having posted eight or more boards the last three times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Elijah Greene, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and ten boards.

Even though they lost, The Park School of Buffalo smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in three consecutive matchups.

Leading St. Francis to victory were Henry Bickerstaff and Matthew Zielinski. Bickerstaff went 8 of 13 on his way to 17 points and five rebounds, while Zielinski went 5 of 12 on his way to 17 points and seven rebounds. Those 17 points gave Bickerstaff a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Andrew Lindstrom, who posted ten points and five rebounds.

The Park School of Buffalo's record now sits at 4-2. As for St. Francis, their win ended a four-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 3-1.

The Park School of Buffalo didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 61-55 loss against Fredonia on the 27th. As for St. Francis, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next game, a 52-27 victory against Frontier on the 27th.