Basketball Recap: Make It Three in a Row for Pine Ridge

It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Pine Ridge had no problem doing just that on Wednesday. They came out on top against the Gateway Panthers by a score of 69-56. Winning may never get old, but Pine Ridge sure is getting used to it with their third in a row.

Wilmer De La Rosa

Blocked Shots

02/05/25 vs Gateway	8
02/03/25 @ Seabreeze	1
01/31/25 @ Astronaut	4
01/30/25 vs Seabreeze	2

It was another big night for Wilmer De La Rosa, who dropped a double-double with 18 points and 15 boards. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 3 blocks per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Kadin Pierce-Flores, who went 5 of 8 to rack up 12 points and three steals.

Gateway's defeat came despite a true team effort with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Yangel Malpica, who posted 12 points in addition to six assists and six steals. Malpica is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed three or more in the last six games he's played. Another player making a difference was Gabe Haynes, who went 6 for 12 on his way to 15 points.

Pine Ridge's win bumped their record up to 9-17. As for Gateway, their loss dropped their record down to 11-11.

Pine Ridge didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 71-60 defeat against New Smyrna Beach on the 7th. As for Gateway, they will face off against Auburndale at 7:00 p.m. on February 12th. Gateway knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past three matchups -- so hopefully Auburndale likes a good challenge.