The Lakewood Ranch Mustangs suffered their biggest defeat yet this season on Thursday. They were beaten by Palmetto 77-49. While losing is never fun, Lakewood Ranch can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 397th, while Palmetto is ranked 158th).
Despite the loss, Lakewood Ranch had strong showings from Thomas Huggins, who scored 13 points along with seven rebounds, and David Young, who scored 12 points along with seven rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Huggins has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Isaiah Allen, who scored five points along with three steals.
Palmetto's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Joshua Lipson, who scored 17 points along with five assists and five steals. Santiago Henriquez was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 23 points and ten rebounds.
Lakewood Ranch has traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost six of their last seven games, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-7 record this season. As for Palmetto, the win got them back to even at 7-7.
Lakewood Ranch won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against Estero at 10:40 a.m. on January 5th. Hopefully Estero focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up seven on Thursday. Palmetto won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against Cypress Lake at 2:00 p.m. on January 5th. Cypress Lake is strutting with some offensive muscle, as they've averaged 60.7 points per game.
