Basketball Recap: Dr. Phillips Proves Higher State Rank Is No Mistake

Dr. Phillips won the last time they faced Horizon and things went their way on Friday too. The stars were shining brightly for the Dr. Phillips Panthers in a 75-57 victory over the Horizon Hawks. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 146th, while the Hawks are ranked 590th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Despite the loss, Horizon saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Diego Rojas went 8 of 18 on his way to 20 points along with six boards and four steals. Those four steals set a new season-high mark for Rojas. The team also got some help courtesy of Aidan Stein, who posted nine points.

Dr. Phillips has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 6-5 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 68.8 points per game. As for Horizon, they are on a 14-game losing streak (dating back to last season) that has dropped them down to 0-11.

Dr. Phillips didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 64-63 win against Spanish Fort on the 26th. As for Horizon, they will have a little extra prep time after the defeat as they won't be playing again for a while. They'll take on Timber Creek at 1:30 p.m. on January 2, 2025.