On Monday, the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders faced the North Broward Prep Eagles in a battle between two of the state's top teams. St. Thomas Aquinas fell to North Broward Prep 55-51. St. Thomas Aquinas was given a dose of their own medicine in this game as North Broward Prep apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in January of 2020.
St. Thomas Aquinas' defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Clarence Westbrook Jr., who scored 14 points along with two steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Drake (DJ) Sandi, who scored five points along with seven rebounds and six assists.
It was another big night for Raul Perez ruiz, who scored 35 points along with seven rebounds for North Broward Prep. That makes it three consecutive games in which Perez ruiz has scored at least a third of North Broward Prep's points. Enrico Borio was another key contributor, scoring nine points along with 12 rebounds.
This is the second loss in a row for St. Thomas Aquinas and nudges their season record down to 15-5. As for North Broward Prep, their win bumped their record up to 14-4.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. St. Thomas Aquinas on the road again on Tuesday and play against Deerfield Beach at 7:30 p.m. on January 23rd. Deerfield Beach will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Florida Rankings (they are ranked 394th, while St. Thomas Aquinas is ranked 12th). As for North Broward Prep, they will head out on the road to square off against Saint Andrew's at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Saint Andrew's knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past seven games -- so hopefully North Broward Prep likes a good challenge.
