NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The New Smyrna Beach Barracudas survived a scoring drought of more than seven minutes in the first half and beat the Deltona Wolves 62-49 for a key district victory Thursday night.
Deltona (8-6, 5-3) jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter behind the 3-point shooting of sophomore Blake Hinson, taking a 15-11 lead into the second quarter. Hinson would lead the Wolves with 21 points on the night on 5-for-16 shooting from the floor.
New Smyrna (11-3, 7-2) used a 10-2 run to end the first half with steals by Tyrell Merrick (3 points, 5 steals) and Anthony Butler (4 steals). The run appeared to help spark the Barracudas offense in the second half. Butler pushed the tempo and finished the night with 17 points to go along with 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
Nick Heard struggled early for the Barracudas, but finished with 13 points and 9 rebounds on the night. But it was senior Logan Malecki who closed out the night heating up in the second half to lead New Smyrna with 22 points on 6-for-11 shooting. He was chosen as the Player of the Game.
With the win, New Smyrna takes sole possession of second place in the Class 7A District standings behind the Atlantic Sharks.