The Boca Ciega Pirates have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won three matches by 21 points or more this season. They simply couldn't be stopped on Monday as they easily beat Manatee 75-48 at home. Given Boca Ciega's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 214th, while Manatee is ranked 661st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Boca Ciega's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Kaleb Oriol, who scored 21 points. That makes it four consecutive games in which Oriol has scored at least 25% of Boca Ciega's points. Jordan Naylor was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 13 points and ten rebounds.
Boca Ciega has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 6-3 record this season. As for Manatee, they are on a six-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 1-6.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Boca Ciega won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Gibbs at 8:00 p.m. on December 12th. Gibbs has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 319 points over their last five matchups. Manatee's road trip will continue as they head out to face Riverview Sarasota at 7:30 p.m. on December 15th. Hopefully Riverview Sarasota focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 13 on Wednesday.
