Recap: Atlantic Coast Stingrays vs. Palatka Panthers
This season hasn't been kind to the Atlantic Coast Stingrays, who are still winless after their 14th contest. The contest between Atlantic Coast and Palatka wasn't particularly close, with Atlantic Coast falling 64-48. While losing is never fun, Atlantic Coast can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 700th, while Palatka is ranked 114th).
Despite the defeat, Atlantic Coast had strong showings from Troy Johnson, who scored 13 points, and JP Pearson, who scored 13 points. Pearson scored a full 27.1% of Atlantic Coast's points, the third time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Malik Aker, who scored six points.
Atlantic Coast's loss was their ninth straight on the road dating back to last season, which bumped their record down to 0-14. As for Palatka, the victory (which was their seventh in a row) raised their record to 12-2.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Atlantic Coast and San Jose Prep will face off at 7:00 p.m. on January 6th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Palatka will have some time to savor their win since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Atlantic at 7:30 p.m. on January 11th.