Winter Park Wildcats whip opposition

Winter Park boys basketball has leapt out to a dominating start to the season already with 11 wins by the time they faced their biggest district rival, University, for the first time this season on Dec. 20.

The boys headed to Palm Beach Central over the holidays, and their tournament spree isn’t done just yet as they host Vanguard at noon Jan. 4 in the Polk County/Orange County Shootout. Vanguard is undefeated this season at 7-0, with blowout wins all season. Only twice all season have the Panthers not doubled their opponent’s score.

The Wildcats have preferred to keep things close so far, edging Boone 65-57 while letting the Braves’ B.J. Taylor rack up 40 points. And they’ve learned how to pull out wins in those close games, scoring 23 percent more points in the fourth quarter than any other.

After the showdown against Vanguard, the Wildcats host West Orange at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 7. The Warriors are on a losing streak that’s spanned half the season so far.