The Steinbrenner Warriors's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Tuesday after their ninth straight loss. They were the victim of a rough 63-39 defeat at the hands of Plant City. While losing is never fun, Steinbrenner can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 597th, while Plant City is ranked 118th).
Defeat or not, Steinbrenner got some senior leadership from Manny Torres and Justice Momrik. Torres scored 13 points along with six rebounds and three steals, while Momrik. scored 13 points. Torres hasn't dropped below two steals for seven straight games. Another player making a difference was Ryan Lind, who scored three points along with 11 rebounds.
Steinbrenner struggled to work together and finished the game with only four assists. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Plant City racked up 18 assists.
Plant City's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Gavin Tinsley, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 13 rebounds. Tinsley has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last four times he's played. Jamin Andrews was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 14 points and ten rebounds.
Steinbrenner's loss was their third straight at home, which bumped their record down to 1-16. As for Plant City, the win was the third in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 15-2.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Steinbrenner won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Robinson at 8:00 p.m. on January 17th. Averaging 62.4 so far this season, Robinson's high-powered offense has been in full-swing lately, so Steinbrenner better be ready for a challenge. Plant City won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Lennard at 8:00 p.m. on January 17th. Hopefully Lennard focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 14 last Friday.
