If the Taylor Wildcats were riding high off their 57-31 takedown of the Florida School for the Deaf & Blind Dragons last Tuesday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. Taylor took a hard 67-53 fall against First Academy on Friday. Taylor was down 59-37 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from.
Nikko Dozier and James Thomas certainly did their best on Friday to try and avoid the loss. Dozier scored 21 points along with three steals, while Thomas scored nine points along with eight rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Dozier has scored all season. Preston Kelly was another key contributor, scoring eight points.
It was another big night for Amari Smith, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and 21 rebounds for First Academy. Smith hasn't dropped below eight rebounds for five straight games. Another player making a difference was Bryce Norflee, who scored 11 points along with nine steals.
Taylor has been struggling recently, as they've lost eight of their last ten matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-12 record this season. As for First Academy, the victory was the fourth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 10-9.
Taylor will be playing at home against Warner Christian Academy at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Hopefully Warner Christian Academy focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up nine on Friday. As for First Academy, First Academy and Crooms Academy will face off at 7:30 p.m. on January 29th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Florida (Crooms Academy is ranked 656th, while First Academy is ranked 655th).
