With a playoff game on the line, the Norland Vikings rose to the challenge on Thursday. They walked away with a 67-57 win over the Rockets. Given Norland's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 29th, while Central is ranked 136th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Marcus Allen was his usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 29 points and 16 rebounds. He continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Triston Wilson, who scored 12 points along with seven rebounds.
Several Rockets players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Justin Suarez, who scored 20 points along with seven rebounds. Another player making a difference was Dwight Carter, who scored 13 points along with three blocks and two steals.
Norland is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a nice bump to their 15-10 record this season. As for Central, their loss dropped their record down to 19-5.
Norland will be staying on the road on Saturday to face off against Archbishop McCarthy at 7:00 p.m. on February 10th. Norland has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 262 points over their last four matches. Central does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
