After having lost a blowout in their previous game against Oak Ridge, the Ocoee Knights were happy to have found some success on Monday. They strolled past Tohopekaliga with points to spare, taking the game 57-39. Given Ocoee's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 149th, while Tohopekaliga is ranked 475th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Leading Ocoee to victory were Justin Smith and Brenden Shaw. Smith scored 11 points along with five assists and five rebounds, while Shaw scored 19 points. Smith set a new season high mark in steals with five. The team also got some help courtesy of Justynn Thomas, who scored 13 points.
Ocoee pushed their record up to 4-3 with that win, which was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 69.2 points per game. As for Tohopekaliga, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 1-4.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Ocoee won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against South Lake at 7:00 p.m. on December 12th. South Lake knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past three matches -- so hopefully Ocoee likes a good challenge. As for Tohopekaliga, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Celebration at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
