Basketball Recap: Luca De La Paz's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Braddock over Central

On Tuesday, the Braddock Bulldogs came up short against the Central Rockets and fell 66-53. While losing is never fun, the Bulldogs can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 430th, while the Rockets are ranked 65th).

Several Bulldogs players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Luca De La Paz, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and ten boards. De La Paz continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Ray Estay, who posted 13 points.

Keri Foster was his usual excellent self, going 11 for 18 on his way to 25 points along with seven assists and seven rebounds for Central. Another player making a difference was Willie Dye III, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 12 boards.

Braddock has been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 9-14 record this season. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.3 points per game. As for Central, their victory bumped their record up to 15-5.

Braddock has already played their next game (against Archbishop Carroll), but no score has been uploaded at the time of writing. Central didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 70-68 loss against Miramar on the 29th.