Basketball Recap: Coconut Creek Takes Loss Despite Strong Performances from Ijah Chin and Nash Youte

Coconut Creek was not able to break out of their rough patch on Saturday as the team picked up their seventh straight defeat. They fell 63-54 to the Braddock Bulldogs. The Cougars were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Bulldogs apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in January of 2020.

Nash Youte and Ijah Chin certainly did their best on Saturday to avoid the loss. Youte went 8 for 12 on his way to 20 points in addition to five boards and three steals, while Chin posted six points and 12 rebounds. The dominant performance gave Chin a new career-high in boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Warren Noel, who had five points and five assists.

Even though they lost, Coconut Creek smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in six consecutive contests.

Jayden Figueroa had an outrageously good game for Braddock as he went 7 of 10 on his way to 18 points in addition to seven rebounds and five steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Ray Estay, who went 5 of 12 on his way to 16 points and four steals.

Coconut Creek's defeat dropped their record down to 1-7. As for Braddock, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 5-7 record this season.

Coconut Creek and Braddock could both be facing uphill battles in their next games considering their disadvantage in the MaxPreps Florida Rankings. Coconut Creek (ranked 683rd) will meet Atlantic (ranked 317th) at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Meanwhile, Braddock (ranked 437th) will meet Grandview Prep (ranked 203rd) at 12:00 p.m. on Friday.