Lely comes up short despite Jayce Cora's dominant performance

By Team Reports Dec 13, 2023, 1:18pm

Recap: Lely Trojans vs. Palmetto Ridge Bears

The Lely Trojans's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Tuesday after their fifth straight loss. They took a hard 64-48 fall against Palmetto Ridge. While losing is never fun, Lely can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 477th, while Palmetto Ridge is ranked 22nd).

Despite the loss, Lely still got an impressive performance from Jayce Cora, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and 17 rebounds. Those 11 points set a new season-high mark for Cora. McAndrew Gaspard was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with seven rebounds.

Leading Palmetto Ridge to victory were Juju Castillo and Calven Charles. Castillo scored 15 points along with three steals, while Charles scored 14 points along with eight rebounds and three blocks. Those 15 points set a new season-high mark for Castillo. The team also got some help courtesy of Sean Gomez, who scored ten points.

Lely's loss was their third straight on the road, which bumped their record down to 1-5. As for Palmetto Ridge, the victory for they keeps them at an undefeated 6-0.

Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Lely will take on Golden Gate at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. As for Palmetto Ridge, they will head out on the road to face off against Naples at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Naples knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past eight games -- so hopefully Palmetto Ridge likes a good challenge.