Basketball Recap: Poinciana Takes a Loss

After flying high against Tohopekaliga last Monday, Poinciana came back down to earth. The Poinciana Eagles were just a bucket shy of victory on Wednesday and fell 57-56 to the Dr. Phillips Panthers. The Eagles were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Panthers apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in December of 2023.

Poinciana lost despite a true team effort on offense, the best among them being Javonte Simpson-Lee, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 17 rebounds. Simpson-Lee is crushing it when it comes to boards: he's pulled down at least eight every time he's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Kobie Brown, who posted 14 points and seven rebounds.

Dr. Phillips found their leader in sophomore Ryan Ayala, who put up 13 points. London Hatch was another key player, putting up ten points.

Poinciana has been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 15-8 record this season. As for Dr. Phillips, their victory ended a five-game drought at home and bumped them up to 10-13.

Poinciana will square off against Foundation Academy at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. As for Dr. Phillips, they and Harmony will face off at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday without much rest having both just played.