Key West hosted the Atocha Island New Year’s Classic from Jan. 4-6. On the opening night of the tourney, Marathon and Key West played one another in a Monroe County showdown. Key West toppled the Fins 68-57 for their first win of the event. James Osborne scored 18 points, with half of them from the 3-point line, and added 7 rebounds and 4 steals. DeMarcus Deroche scored 15 points, pulled down 17 rebounds and blocked 4 shots for the Conchs, and Tramane Scott had a dozen each of points and rebounds. Leandro Batista pitched in 9 and Kameron Roberts scored 8 while stealing the ball from Marathon four times.
The Fins didn’t roll easily for Key West, however; Marathon’s seniors worked hard for a win that was not to be. The upperclassmen scored 42 of Marathon’s 57 points, with 19 of those rolling off the hands of Adrian Cruz. Fellow seniors Yaniel Garcia and Xavier Grant scored 14 and 9 points, respectively. Grant also added 10 rebounds. Sophomore Daeshawn Holmes helped out with 7 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks for the Fins.
Next up for the Conchs was Boca Raton High School. Key West bested the Bobcats 61-59 on Jan. 5. Osborne and Roberts scored 17 points each. This time it was Roberts who was hot from three, going 3-3 on the evening. Deroche had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds plus 5 blocks in the close win.
On the same night, 3A Marathon faced the 7A Gators of Barbara Goleman, losing 88-67. Cruz had the hot hand for the Fins, scoring 22, with 14 more from Garcia. Holmes registered a double-double with 10 points and rebounds. The high-scoring action was not enough to overcome the sharp-shooting Gators, who sank a total of 17 threes, most of which came from the NBA distance.
Jan. 6 would be the final night of competition, pitting Marathon against another 7A school. The Bobcats of Boca Raton High School made short work of the game, outscoring the Fins 82-35. Unlike their prior two games, Marathon relied on the younger side of their bench in the lopsided matchup. Eighth grader Andrew Suarez had the team high score with 8 points, with Cruz and eighth-grader Jack Chapman sinking 7 apiece. The next-gen Fins played for almost a half, earning their stripes plus some valuable experience in the loss.
Key West’s two wins put them into the final against Miami Christian High School. Key West lost the game 70-55 to capture the runner-up spot in the tournament. Osborne scored 23 points with three steals. Deroche led in rebounds with 14. Scott had 11 points with 3 steals and David Aviles scored 8 in the final game of the series.
The Conchs play Coral Shores in Key West on Friday, Jan. 12 for a rematch of their Dec. 21 game, during which Key West came out on top. Marathon hosts Downtown Doral the same night. Both tipoffs are scheduled for 7 p.m.
Photos by GRACE ANDREW/Keys Weekly.
