Two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Pembroke Pines Charter walked away with it. They took down the Atlantic Eagles 72-54 on Wednesday. Given the Jaguars' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 16th, while the Eagles are ranked 248th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Pembroke Pines Charter's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Maximo Ortega led the charge by putting up 21 points. Zemari Days was another key player, earning 18 points.
Several Eagles players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Jabari Henry, who went 10-for-13 on his way to 22 points. What's more, Henry also posted a 77% field goal percentage, which is the highest he's posted since back in December of 2024. Another player making a difference was Jonathan Richard, who went 5-for-7 to rack up 13 points and six rebounds.
Pembroke Pines Charter has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 12 of their last 14 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 18-7 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 64.6 points over those games. As for Atlantic, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 14-11.
Coming up, Pembroke Pines Charter will challenge Belen Jesuit at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with Belen Jesuit sitting on seven straight wins and Pembroke Pines Charter on three. Atlantic does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
