The Discovery Spartans fought the good fight in their overtime matchup against the Lake Wales Highlanders on Thursday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell 82-74 to the Highlanders. Discovery's defeat signaled the end of their three-game winning streak.
Discovery lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Darius Livingston, who scored 21 points along with three steals and three blocks. The game was Livingston's 14th in a row with at least ten points. Willie Wilson was another key contributor, scoring 19 points along with eight rebounds and three steals.
Lake Wales got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Jeremy Willingham out in front who scored 17 points along with seven rebounds. Those 17 points set a new season-high mark for him. Another player making a difference was Cedarius Christian, who scored 15 points.
Discovery's defeat ended a four-game streak of away wins and brought them to 11-3. As for Lake Wales, their win bumped their record up to 6-9.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Discovery will take on Haines City at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. Haines City will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Florida Rankings (they are ranked 551st, while Discovery is ranked 124th). Lake Wales won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Auburndale at 8:00 p.m. on January 12th.
