Lely Suffers Tough Loss to Naples

There have been a lot of great games in the Naples-Lely series - the longest in city’s history. Friday night’s game was not one of them. After leading briefly, 13-11 with 1:59 left in the opening quarter, Lely saw arch-rival Naples consistently build a lead until the final gun marked a convincing 74-45 win for the visiting Golden Eagles. The game marked senior night for the Trojans.

A disconsolate Lely head coach Fritz Jacques wrapped up his feelings with one word. “Tough,” the Trojans leader said.

Naples matched the Trojans’ hustle and appeared the tougher team physically on this night.

Naples (12-11) showed balanced scoring, with 12 players showing up in the scorebook. Junior Jonas Duclona led the way for Naples with 13 points. Kerry Brown added 11 and Keylijah Willams 10. Marques Leon and Joshua Similien had seven each.

Lely was paced by Dave Louidor with 13, center Conor Peyton added 10. The Trojans scored 17 of their 45 points on 17-33 shooting from the free throw line. Naples was 14-19 from the line. Naples also connected for four three-pointers while holding the Trojans scoreless beyond the arc.

Naples opened district play Tuesday, February 8th with a home playoff game against Estero (10-12). Lely (6-13) traveled to South Fort Myers (19-6) for a district match-up Tuesday.