The Estero Wildcats pushed their score all the way to 65 on Thursday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They were outmatched by Mariner on the road and fell 100-65. Despite running the score up even higher than they did on Tuesday (62), Estero still had to take the loss.
Estero's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Brady Knutson, who scored 23 points along with seven rebounds. Knutson scored a full 35.4% of Estero's points, the fifth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Lee Eckman, who scored 15 points along with six assists.
It was another big night for Marcus Kelley Jr, who scored 29 points along with nine steals and five rebounds for Mariner. Kelley Jr continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last four games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Corey Hunter, who scored 22 points.
Estero bumped their record down to 3-7 with that loss, which was their third straight on the road. That rough patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.3 points per game. As for Mariner, the victory (which was their fourth in a row) raised their record to 6-3.
Estero's road trip will continue as they head out to face Cypress Lake at 12:00 p.m. on December 16th. Hopefully Cypress Lake focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up ten on Thursday. Mariner will take on Bell Creek Academy in a holiday battle at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday at. Hopefully Bell Creek Academy focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 12 on Tuesday.
