While it was all tied up 34-34 at halftime, Central was not quite Vero Beach's equal in the second half on Wednesday. They took a 70-64 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Indians. While losing is never fun, the Cobras can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 336th, while the Indians are ranked 96th).
Despite the defeat, Central saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Ivan Blackmon posted 18 points. Another player making a difference was Jordan Tabora, who had ten points.
Vero Beach got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Preston Collier out in front who shot 60% from the field on his way to 23 points and seven boards. Those 23 points gave Collier a new career-high. Brandon James was another key player, going 7-for-13 to rack up 19 points in addition to five rebounds and three steals.
This is the second loss in a row for Central and nudges their season record down to 8-10. Those losses can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.5 points over those games. As for Vero Beach, their win bumped their record up to 15-3.
Central wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next contest, a 60-59 victory against Centennial on the 16th. As for Vero Beach, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next matchup, an 81-55 win against St. Edward's on the 16th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
