There's no place like home for the Tampa Prep Terrapins, who bounced back after a tough loss on the road last Monday. They snuck past Bell Creek Academy with a 56-52 victory on Wednesday. That result was just more of the same for these two, as Tampa Prep also won the last time the pair played back in February of 2022.
Chandler White Brooks continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, scoring 21 points along with six rebounds and two steals. He hasn't dropped below two steals for three straight games. Another player making a difference was Ben Jackson, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 15 rebounds.
Bell Creek Academy's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Jermal Jones, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Lyrique Sartin who scored 17 points along with three steals. Jones has been hot recently, having posted 15 or more points the last four times he's played. Jah'mir Wallace was another key contributor, scoring six points along with 13 rebounds and two steals.
Tampa Prep pushed their record up to 14-2 with that victory, which was their 21st straight at home dating back to last season. They've been dominating during the matches in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 23.71 points. As for Bell Creek Academy, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 9-8.
Tampa Prep will look to defend their home court on Friday against Shorecrest Prep at 7:30 p.m. Shorecrest Prep will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Florida Rankings (they are ranked 366th, while Tampa Prep is ranked 105th). As for Bell Creek Academy, they will take on Victory Christian Academy at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Victory Christian Academy knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with flashy point totals in its past 15 matchups -- so hopefully Bell Creek Academy likes a good challenge.
