Even though Gulf Coast HEAT scored an imposing 59 points on Friday, the St. Petersburg Catholic Barons still came out on top. St. Petersburg Catholic walked away with a 69-59 victory over Gulf Coast HEAT.
Nick Berry continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a double-double on 32 points and 13 rebounds. The contest was his eighth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Malik Newton, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and 14 rebounds.
Several Gulf Coast HEAT players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Westin Lacey, who scored 21 points along with five assists and four steals. Lacey is absolutely dominating the steal category: he's posted at least two every time he's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Steven Scott, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 16 rebounds.
Even though they lost, Gulf Coast HEAT were working as a unit and finished the game with 14 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
St. Petersburg Catholic's win bumped their record up to 3-10. As for Gulf Coast HEAT, they still haven't won a game yet this season and fell to 0-6.
St. Petersburg Catholic will have some time to savor their victory since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Clearwater Central Catholic at 7:30 p.m. on January 9, 2024. Gulf Coast HEAT will get a bit of extra time to process the loss as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on Sarasota Military Academy at 6:30 p.m. on January 9, 2024. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Florida (Sarasota Military Academy is ranked 753rd, while Gulf Coast HEAT is ranked 762nd).
