The Haines City Hornets's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Monday after their fourth straight loss. They fell to McKeel Academy 62-56. While losing is never fun, Haines City can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 563rd, while McKeel Academy is ranked 189th).
Despite the loss, Haines City still got an impressive performance from Jorge Ramirez, who scored 21 points. Ramirez continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last four games he's played. Another player making a difference was Ixion Toro, who scored five points along with three blocks.
Haines City has not been sharp recently, as they've lost seven of their last eight games, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-14 record this season. As for McKeel Academy, the win was the fourth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 13-4.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Haines City won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against Avon Park at 8:00 p.m. on January 16th. Avon Park has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 189 points over their last three matches. McKeel Academy won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Sebring at 8:00 p.m. on January 16th. Hopefully Sebring focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up nine last Saturday.
