Two dominant players in Jorge Ramirez and Dwayne Foreman III are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Haines City Hornets and the Hope Academy Trojan Tigers will face off at 7:00 p.m. on December 15th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Haines City has struggled recently with four defeats in a row, while Hope Academy will arrive with eight straight victories.
Last Tuesday, Haines City suffered a tough 59-36 defeat at the hands of Auburndale. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest points Haines City has scored all season.
Haines City's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Juan Carrasquillo, who scored five points, and Jacob Patterson who scored four points. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Carrasquillo has scored all season.
Hope Academy has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six matchups by 22 points or more this season. They were the clear victor by a 86-64 margin over Cocoa. Given Hope Academy's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 120th, while Cocoa is ranked 493rd), the result on Wednesday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Hope Academy got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Foreman III out in front who scored 23 points along with eight assists. That makes it seven consecutive games in which Foreman III has scored at least 25% of Hope Academy's points. Another player making a difference was Nathaniel Boyer, who scored 15 points along with three steals.
Haines City's defeat dropped their record down to 1-4. As for Hope Academy, they pushed their record up to 10-3 with that victory, which was their eighth straight at home.
Friday's contest is shaping up to be a scrappy match: Haines City have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 32.6 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Hope Academy, though, as they've been averaging only 27.2 rebounds per game. Given Haines City's sizeable advantage in that area, Hope Academy will need to find a way to close that gap. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.
