The Centurions of Circle Christian traveled from Winter Park to play a pair of games in the Keys to begin the new year. Key West spoiled their trip, defeating them 58-48 on Jan. 3 despite not having their top scorer in James Osborne.
Alex Means picked up the slack, dropping 13 points on the Centurions. Tramane Scott registered a double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds, while Kameron Roberts added 11 and Zach Levering put up eight. Leo Batista pulled down nine rebounds in the win.
On Jan. 10, Osborne was back from an injury to help the Conchs defeat Coral Shores in Tavernier. Osborne scored 10 points in limited action to help Key West pick up win number eight of the season, just three shy of last year’s total with plenty of action to go. Roberts added 11 points and seven rebounds while Scott scored eight with 14 boards. Josue Thanus and Levering scored seven each in the in-county matchup.
Circle Christian gave Marathon some trouble on Jan. 2, beating the Dolphins 58-47 despite Jack Chapman scoring 19 points. Briggs Roberts put up 13 while Taylor Huff and Andrew Suarez were busy grabbing 10 rebounds each, but it was not enough to best the Centurions.
On Jan. 8, Chapman had the hot hand again, dropping 22 on Mater Bay Academy. Daeshawn Holmes was all over the court with eight points, nine rebounds, three steals and a pair of blocks, but the Fins came up short, losing 52-45. They finally found their groove the following night at Horeb Christian, when Chapman scored the game-high 32 points, all but two of which came from behind the three-point line to tie a Marathon school record. Holmes registered a double-double, scoring 15 with 10 rebounds and two blocks, while Giorvis Zamora added seven to the team total. The 74-48 victory was win number five for the Fins this season. The battle-weary Fins played one more last week, this time at Downtown Doral, losing 77-40.
A short-staffed Coral Shores struggled last week, losing to Palmer in a 76-35 road loss on Jan. 8, then to Key West at home on Jan. 10. Down three starters, the ’Canes worked to hold their own, but were unable to overcome the Conchs. Thomas Gonzalez scored 10 points while Austin Vogt put up seven and Talin Schafstall added five in the loss. The 2-11 Hurricanes will look to make a run in the last quarter of the season in hopes of a solid seed in districts early next month.
