Basketball Recap: Central Comes Up Short

It's hard to turn regular season success into postseason wins, a fact Central can now relate to. They fell 65-56 to the Somerset Academy Panthers on Friday. The Rockets were not able to make up for their loss to the Panthers from their previous meeting back in February of 2023.

Keri Foster

Points

02/07/25 vs Somerset Academy	21
02/05/25 vs Mater Lakes Academy	20
01/31/25 @ Royal Palm Beach	15
01/29/25 vs Miramar	21
01/28/25 @ Braddock	25

When it comes to explaining why Central lost, don't look at Keri Foster. Despite the final result, he almost dropped a triple-double with 21 points, ten boards, and nine assists. Foster's morning made it five games in a row in which he has scored at least 15 points. Willie Dye III was another key player, putting up six points along with 11 rebounds and three blocks.

Even though they lost, Central smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in six consecutive contests.

Christian Smith was his usual excellent self, going 9-for-16 en route to 25 points and six boards for Somerset Academy. With that strong performance, Smith is now averaging an impressive 15.3 points per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Xavier Anderson, who went 5-for-9 on his way to 14 points.

Central has traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four matches, which has put a noticeable dent in their 16-8 record this season. As for Somerset Academy, the win (which was their fifth in a row) raised their record to 17-11.

Central didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 61-40 victory against Reagan on the 12th. As for Somerset Academy, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next contest, a 79-59 defeat against Northwestern on the 12th.