Basketball Recap: Mainland Piles Up the Points Against Cocoa

Mainland waltzed into their game on Friday with four straight wins... but they left with five. They took their contest with ease, bagging a 72-44 win over the Cocoa Tigers. Given the Buccaneers' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 185th, while the Tigers are ranked 528th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Leading Mainland to victory were Kade Manley and Canyon Powers. Manley went 8 of 12 from beyond the arc on his way to 26 points and three steals, while Powers went 7 of 12 on his way to 16 points in addition to seven boards and six assists. That makes it four consecutive games in which Manley has scored at least a third of Mainland's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Beegie Gordon, who posted six points along with six boards and five steals.

Buccaneers

Assists

12/27/24 vs Cocoa	18
12/20/24 @ St. John-Vianney	16
01/13/24 vs IMG Academy Blue	15
01/20/24 vs Pine Ridge	15
01/12/24 @ Spruce Creek	14

They weren't the only one working in the assists department: Mainland was working as a unit and finished the game with 18 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in December of 2023.

Despite the loss, Cocoa still got an impressive performance from Tony Adderley, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 11 boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Romeo Johnson, who had seven points in addition to seven assists and five steals.

Mainland's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 7-4. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 71.5 points per game. As for Cocoa, their loss dropped their record down to 3-7.

Mainland wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next match, a 74-60 defeat against East River on the 28th. As for Cocoa, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 65-51 win against Innovation on the 28th.