Basketball Recap: Alijah Baez Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat Pine

After only 29 points in their last contest, Port St. Lucie made sure to put some points up on the board against Pine on Saturday. The Port St. Lucie Jaguars rang in the new year with a 61-48 win over the Pine Knights. The victory was some much needed relief for the Jaguars as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak.

Port St. Lucie's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Alijah Baez, who went 6 of 13 on his way to 16 points. The dominant performance also gave Baez a new career-high in rebounds (three). Daniel Alexis was another key player, going 5 for 10 on his way to 13 points and eight rebounds.

Port St. Lucie smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in four consecutive matchups.

Pine's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Thomas Sawicki, who posted 19 points, and Wade Singleton, who dropped a double-double on ten points and 12 boards. Singleton is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as he's now pulled down nine or more in the last six games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Connor Hampton, who put up six points.

Port St. Lucie's win bumped their record up to 5-11. As for Pine, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 9-6.

Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Port St. Lucie will venture away from home to take on Central at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. One thing working in Central's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last three games. As for Pine, they will head out to challenge Lincoln Park Academy at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Pine is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 57.1 points per game this season.