On Thursday, Lakeland Christian beat Clearwater Central Catholic 60-51. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Lakeland Christian.
Lakeland Christian's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Nate Carpenter, who scored 14 points along with nine rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Ralph Scott, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Several Marauders players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Maxwell Messa, who scored 18 points along with five rebounds. That was a full 35.3% of Clearwater Central Catholic's points, marking the third time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Peter Lenhardt was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with six rebounds and two steals.
Even though they lost, Clearwater Central Catholic smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Lakeland Christian is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 9-4 record this season. As for Clearwater Central Catholic, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 12-8.
Lakeland Christian won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against Frostproof at 8:00 p.m. on January 19th. Frostproof knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with flashy point totals in its past 14 contests -- so hopefully Lakeland Christian likes a good challenge. As for Clearwater Central Catholic, they will head out on the road to square off against Cambridge Christian at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
