The Booker Tornadoes lost to the Clearwater Tornadoes back in January of 2020, but the Booker Tornadoes didn't allow the Clearwater Tornadoes the same satisfaction on Friday. Booker walked away with a 56-44 win over Clearwater. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Booker.
Booker's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jovan Palavra led the charge by scoring 13 points. The game was Palavra's ninth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jamareon Ruffin, who scored 12 points.
Despite the loss, Clearwater saw an underclassman step up: Kristopher Foote scored six points. Keshawn Andrews was another key contributor, scoring seven points along with three blocks.
Booker's victory bumped their record up to 6-8. As for Clearwater, they have not been sharp recently, as they've lost three of their last four matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-6 record this season.
Booker will have some time to savor their victory since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Riverview Sarasota at 7:30 p.m. on January 8th. Riverview Sarasota knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past seven matchups -- so hopefully Booker likes a good challenge. Clearwater and Land O' Lakes will face off at 7:30 p.m. on January 3rd without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Hopefully Land O' Lakes focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up seven on Friday.
