Basketball Recap: Homestead Takes Down Varela in a Playoff Battle

It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Homestead had no problem doing just that on Monday. They snuck past the Varela Vipers with a 55-51 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Broncos.

Homestead's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Rodney Holmes, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 11 boards. Holmes is crushing it when it comes to rebounds: he's pulled down at least ten every time he's taken the court this season. Tavaris Slaton was another key player, dropping a double-double on ten points and ten boards.

Broncos

Previous 2 Games

02/03/25 vs Varela	55-51
01/30/25 @ Somerset Academy (Silver Palms)	57-43

Homestead smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 12 offensive rebounds in 46 consecutive matches dating back to last season.

When it comes to explaining why Varela lost, don't look at Aaron Reyes. Despite the final result, he went 6 of 11 from beyond the arc en route to 32 points and four steals. With that strong performance, Reyes is now averaging an impressive 15.7 points per game.

Homestead is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 14-8 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 66.3 points per game. As for Varela, their loss dropped their record down to 11-9.

Homestead has already played their next contest, an 82-78 defeat against Coral Park on the 5th. Varela does not have any more games scheduled as of now.