Even though the Marco Island Academy Rays scored an imposing 60 points on Thursday, the Naples Classical Academy still came out on top. Naples Classical took down Marco Island Academy 79-60. This was payback for Naples Classical, who suffered a 68-55 loss the last time these two teams met.
Naples Classical found their leader in underclassman Daniel Coldiron, who scored 32 points. That makes it six consecutive games in which Coldiron has scored at least a third of Naples Classical's points. Jude Gillen was another key contributor, scoring 13 points.
Several Rays players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Veleon Nazarko, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 18 rebounds. Nazarko continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Grayson Jones, who scored 19 points along with three steals.
Naples Classical's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 6-10. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 72.5 points per game. As for Marco Island Academy, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 4-11.
Naples Classical won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Oasis at 6:00 p.m. on January 19th. Oasis presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than Naples Classical in Florida (Oasis is ranked 355th, while Naples Classical is ranked 725th). As for Marco Island Academy, they will look to defend their home court on Monday against Moore Haven at 7:00 p.m.
