Basketball Recap: Pine Ridge Comes Up Short

Pine Ridge was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They were six points away from ending the streak, but they lost a 73-67 heartbreaker at the hands of the Atlantic Sharks. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 333rd, while the Sharks are ranked 132nd).

Despite the loss, Pine Ridge saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Henry Robinson Jr shot 4-for-4 from beyond the arc and dropped a double-double on 31 points and ten boards. Robinson Jr is also on a roll when it comes to blocks, as he's now posted two or more in the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Jaheem Curry, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Cris De La Pena continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines for Atlantic, going 5 of 11 en route to 23 points in addition to seven boards and five steals. That's the most points De La Pena has posted since back in December of 2024. Joshua Wiggins also deserves some recognition as he posted his first block of the season.

Pine Ridge's defeat dropped their record down to 6-13. As for Atlantic, they are on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last 11 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 16-5 record this season.

Pine Ridge didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 75-60 loss against Hawthorne on the 25th. As for Atlantic, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next game, an 81-63 victory against Pine Ridge on the 27th.