Winning is just a little bit easier when you work as a team to rack up 12 more assists than your opponent, a fact the Melbourne Central Catholic Hustlers proved on Monday. They walked away with a 47-36 victory over Pineapple Cove Classical Academy. That's another feather in the cap for Melbourne Central Catholic, who also won these teams' last head-to-head.
Melbourne Central Catholic's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Hayden Deane led the charge by scoring 16 points along with seven rebounds and six assists. That makes it three consecutive games in which Deane has scored at least a third of Melbourne Central Catholic's points. Jaevion Cooper was another key contributor, scoring 12 points.
Despite the loss, Pineapple Cove Classical Academy saw an underclassman step up: Michael Barna scored 12 points along with five rebounds and five steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Anthony Bender, who scored ten points along with six rebounds.
The victory makes it two in a row for Melbourne Central Catholic and bumps their season record up to 7-2. As for Pineapple Cove Classical Academy, they bumped their record down to 3-10 with that loss, which was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season.
Melbourne Central Catholic will take on Four Corners at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. As for Pineapple Cove Classical Academy, they will head out on the road to challenge Edgewood at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Edgewood is coming into the contest on a four-game losing streak.
