Even though the Taylor Wildcats scored an imposing 76 points on Friday, the Crooms Academy Panthers still came out on top. Crooms Academy took their matchup against Taylor 84-76. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Crooms Academy.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Crooms Academy to victory, but perhaps none more so than D'Elio Cestero, who scored 26 points along with 7 rebounds. The match was Cestero's third in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Tyrell Johnson, who scored 11 points along with 8 rebounds and 6 assists.
Despite the defeat, Taylor saw an underclassman step up: James Thomas scored 32 points. Thomas scored a full 42.1% of Taylor's points, the second time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Nikko Dozier was another key contributor, scoring 12 points.
The win got Crooms Academy back to even at 2-2. As for Taylor, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 3-3.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Crooms Academy will challenge Orangewood Christian at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. One thing working in Orangewood Christian's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last four games. Taylor will be staying on the road on Monday to face off against Calvary Christian Academy at 7:00 p.m. on December 11th. Calvary Christian Academy is still on the hunt for that elusive first 'W'.
