The Mainland Buccaneers had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 31 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They strolled past New Smyrna Beach with points to spare, taking the game 61-42. That's another feather in the cap for Mainland, who also won these teams' last head-to-head.
Mainland found their leader in underclassman Nathan Kirk, who scored 26 points along with six rebounds. Kirk hasn't dropped below 15 points for four straight games. Another player making a difference was DeAndre Newland, who scored ten points along with five rebounds and three blocks.
Mainland is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven contests, which provided a nice bump to their 16-5 record this season. As for New Smyrna Beach, their defeat dropped their record down to an identical 16-5.
Mainland won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Winter Haven at 3:30 p.m. on January 27th. One thing working in Winter Haven's favor is that they have posted big point totals every time they've taken the court this season. As for New Smyrna Beach, they will be playing in front of their home fans against DME Academy Gold at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
