The Land O' Lakes Gators's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Tuesday after their tenth straight defeat. They fell 55-48 to Countryside. While losing is never fun, Land O' Lakes can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 467th, while the Cougars are ranked 181st).
Land O' Lakes lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Nash Patapoff, who scored 17 points. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Patapoff has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Maxwell Moore, who scored 14 points along with two steals.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Countryside to victory, but perhaps none more so than Cameron Halloran, who scored 16 points along with two steals. It was the first time this season that Halloran scored 15 or more points. Carter Padags was another key contributor, scoring ten points.
Land O' Lakes has traveled a rocky road recently having lost 11 of their last 12 games, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-17 record this season. As for Countryside, the victory was the fifth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 17-6.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Land O' Lakes won't have much time to rest: their next game is against the Buccaneers at 7:30 p.m. on January 31st. Gulf has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games. As for Countryside, they will head out on the road to square off against the Sharks at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The timing isn't great for Anclote: they have been struggling with ten straight losses at home, while the Cougars have snatched up seven consecutive wins on the road.
