The Pinecrest Prep Crocs on the road again on Tuesday and play against the Westwood Christian Warriors at 7:00 p.m. on January 16th. Hopefully Pinecrest Prep focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 17 on Wednesday.
Pinecrest Prep suffered their biggest defeat since November 29, 2023 on Wednesday. They took a serious blow against Somerset Academy (Silver Palms), falling 77-47. While losing is never fun, Pinecrest Prep can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 638th, while Somerset Academy (Silver Palms) is ranked 238th).
Pinecrest Prep's defeat came about despite a quality game from Gabriel Guzman, who went 7 for 10 from beyond the arc en route to 26 points and 1 assist. Another player making a difference was Aaron Castellon, who scored three points along with two steals.
Meanwhile, even though Booker T. Washington scored an imposing 76 points on Monday, Westwood Christian still came out on top. Westwood Christian sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 79-76 victory over Booker T. Washington. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory Westwood Christian has posted since November 28, 2023.
Westwood Christian relied on the efforts of Ethan Taylor, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Michael Vilmenay, who went 9 for 17 from beyond the arc en route to 31 points and 4 assists. Taylor is absolutely dominating the rebound category: he's posted at least eight every time he's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of William Nadaskay, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Pinecrest Prep's loss dropped their record down to 4-6. As for Westwood Christian, their victory bumped their record up to 10-4.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Pinecrest Prep have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 22.6 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Westwood Christian, though, as they've been averaging only 36.9 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Pinecrest Prep was taken down by Westwood Christian 73-15 when the teams last played back in January of 2023. Can Pinecrest Prep avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
