BY GENE NARDI
On Thursday, Jan. 29, the No. 8 Royal Palm Beach High School boys varsity basketball squad hosted Glades Central High School in a non-district match-up.
The Wildcats wasted little time in controlling much of the game.
Royal Palm Beach (16-8) went up early, and it was 10-4 midway through the first quarter, but the Raiders battled back to close the gap to 15-13 early in the second.
At the halfway point in the second quarter, Glades Central found some momentum to lock up the scoreboard at 17-17. Both teams put together several scoring opportunities, as the first half ended with the Wildcats securing a 30-25 lead.
However, Royal Palm Beach unleashed the power in the second half, dominating the Raiders on both sides of the ball and capturing an 18-point lead. As the Wildcats pounced into the fourth quarter, they continued to punish the Raider defense, with a commanding 50-33 lead.
Minutes later, Royal Palm Beach had extended its lead to 20 points with quick counterattacks off rebounds. The Raiders could not go toe-to-toe with the quick Wildcat offense, and also had difficulty cracking the stingy Wildcat defense.
Travis Weatherington had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Wildcats. Johnnie Horsford added 12 points and eight assists for Royal Palm Beach.
The Wildcats also defeated Santaluces High School on Friday night 60-47 and improved their record to 17-8 on the regular season.
Fifth-seeded Royal Palm Beach entered the District 13-7A playoffs Wednesday, traveling to take on fourth-seed Palm Beach Lakes High School, but results were not available at press time.
ABOVE: Royal Palm Beach’s Jalen Ritchie takes the ball up court.
