The Key West Conchs pushed their score all the way to 62 on Thursday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell to Coral Reef 66-62. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game last Tuesday (60), Key West still had to take the loss.
Key West's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of DeMarcus Deroche, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and ten rebounds, and James Osborne who scored 19 points along with five rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Deroche has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Kameron Roberts, who scored 11 points along with six rebounds.
Coral Reef's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Yvon Mbenza, who scored 16 points. Another player making a difference was Nathaniel Wesley, who scored 15 points.
Key West's loss dropped their record down to 10-10. As for Coral Reef, they have been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight games, which provided a massive bump to their 10-13 record this season.
Key West won't have much time to rest: their next game is against the Cobras at 6:00 p.m. on February 2nd. Boyd Anderson presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than the Conchs in Florida (the Cobras are ranked 205th, while the Conchs are ranked 430th). As for Coral Reef, they will head out on the road to take on the Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. One thing working in Palmetto's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last nine matches.
