The Vero Beach Indians will be taking part in a tournament against the Harmony Longhorns at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Vero Beach will bounce into Friday's contest after beating Central, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. The Indians managed a 71-67 win over the Cobras on Wednesday. Given the Indians' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 183rd, while the Cobras are ranked 468th) , the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Preston Collier
| 12/17/25 @ Central | 3 |
| 12/15/25 @ Sebastian River | 3 |
| 12/12/25 vs Cardinal Newman | 3 |
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Vero Beach to victory, but perhaps none more so than Preston Collier, who dropped a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Collier has been hot recently, having also posted three or more steals the last three times he's played. Jeremiah Sanders was another key player, going 6-for-10 to rack up 17 points along with eight boards and three steals.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Harmony, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Monday. They walked away with a 59-52 victory over Cypress Creek on Tuesday. The Longhorns haven't had any issues with the Bears recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.
Vero Beach better focus on containing Jeremiah Pacheco and Jaden Smith as the pair were huge in Harmony's win. Pacheco shot 64% from the field on his way to 17 points and six assists, while Smith dropped a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Those 12 boards gave Smith a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Quaniel Reyes, who posted ten points and three blocks.
Harmony's victory was their first in the district, bumping their district record up to 1-2 and their overall record up to 5-7. As for Vero Beach, their win bumped their record up to 7-3.
Keep an eye on the arc in Friday's game: Vero Beach has been dynamite from deep this season, having made 38.9% of their three-pointers per game. It's a different story for Harmony, though, as they've only made 26.5% of their three-pointers this season. Given Vero Beach's sizable advantage in that area, the Longhorns will need to find a way to close that gap.
Vero Beach skirted past Harmony 46-44 in their previous meeting back in December of 2024. Will the Indians repeat their success, or do the Longhorns have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
