The Central Rockets had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 15.4 points), and they went ahead and made it six on Monday. They snuck past Coral Reef with a 66-61 victory. Given Central's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 153rd, while the Barracudas are ranked 365th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Central got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Willie Dye III out in front who dropped a double-double on 11 points and 20 rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Justin Suarez, who scored 18 points along with six rebounds.
Coral Reef's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Ashton Williams, who scored 17 points. Another player making a difference was Yvon Mbenza, who scored 19 points.
Central is on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 16-4 record this season. As for Coral Reef, their loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 9-12.
Central will head out on the road to face off against the Sharks at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. As for Coral Reef, they will look to defend their home court on Tuesday against the Tornadoes at 7:30 p.m. Booker T. Washington is strutting with some offensive muscle, as they've averaged 55.2 points per game this season.
