The Mandarin Mustangs waltzed into their match on Thursday with two straight wins but they left with three. They took down Atlantic Coast 64-49. Given Mandarin's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 252nd, while Atlantic Coast is ranked 654th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Dylan McCleod continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, scoring 23 points. Another player making a difference was Herring Kevean, who scored ten points along with seven rebounds and six assists.
Several Stingrays players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was JP Pearson, who scored 17 points. Malik Aker was another key contributor, scoring eight points.
Mandarin pushed their record up to 11-5 with that victory, which was their third straight at home. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 72.3 points per game. As for Atlantic Coast, their loss dropped their record down to 1-16.
Mandarin won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Trinity Christian Academy at 7:00 p.m. on January 12th. As for Atlantic Coast, they will head out on the road to challenge First Coast at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. Allowing an average of 50 points per game, First Coast has struggled on the defensive end, but that doesn't have to be the case in this game.
