Cobras shooting guard Christian Maxon leads the way with a team-high 16 points in the victory.
LAUDERDALE LAKES, Fla.– The Fort Pierce Central Cobras used a 12-5 fourth quarter to push past the Elite Academy Eagles 58-50 at the 3rd Annual Sunshine State Winter Challenge. Sophomore shooting guard Christian Maxon led the way with 16 points on four 3-pointers as the Cobras improved to 10-4 on the season.
Elite Academy’s size, length, and outside shooting kept them within striking distance over the first three quarters behind junior shooting guard James Saulsby’s 15 points on five 3-pointers and junior guard Luby Sanon’s 13 points.
The Eagles (5-4) just couldn’t hit one extra shot despite multiple opportunities with the game tied or within a single possession. Fort Pierce Central held leads of one, four, and one over the first 24 minutes.
“Elite Academy has a bunch of dogs,” said head coach Christopher Maxon. “We have been scouting them. We saw them in the summertime. We knew they were not going to give up. They were going to continue to fight and punch us in the mouth. It just comes down to execution. We are trying to get our guys to realize there are games within a game when it comes to who’s touching the ball, managing the clock, getting guys in foul trouble, hitting are free-throws, finishing around the basket, and taking charges. All the little things that we look at as a regular observer. As coaches, we know how important that could be to change the outcome of a game. It really impacted that from key rebounds to closing out and finishing down the stretch when it came to taking care of the ball and cutting that clock down.”
Fort Pierce Central’s well-balanced offensive attack included 11 points from sophomore point guard Christopher Maxon on a trio of 3-pointers. The Maxon brothers have been dubbed “The Sniper Twins” with their ability to shoot the long ball from unlimited range. Both players are strong off the dribble and create plenty of space to connect on their perimeter shots.
The Cobras also got strong performances from sophomore Jospeh Gayle with 10 points on three 3-pointers and junior Derrick King with 10 points. Along with the Maxon twins, the 6-foot-3 Gayle hit timely shots in the second half to give the Cobras more of a cushion. The 6-foot-6 King gave Fort Pierce Central production around the glass while hitting a corner 3-pointer of his own.
Along with their shooting, the Eagles got a versatile performance from 6-foot-6 Ladainian Brooks. The sophomore forward used his long arms and athleticism to score near the rim and off spin moves going downhill. Brooks was also a factor on the glass along with Sanon out of the backcourt. Their play encompassed Elite Academy’s fight throughout the game.
“In the first half, as soon as the game started, we should have taken their heart early,” said Christian Maxon. “We got off to a 9-2 lead but we really could have gotten off to a 18-4 lead. Throughout the game they came back and fought hard. In the second half, we came out pulling and hitting shots. We just took their heart at the end, pulling the ball out and not going down and shooting dumb shots. We had a week off last week. We were in practice all day working and trying to get our bigs involved because we’ve been struggling with that. We have been shooting a lot of perimeter shots, but getting the bigs involved and getting an inside presence really helps our team inside and out and overall chemistry.”
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