Palm Beach County basketball top performers: Who is off to a hot start in December?

It may be the winter sports season, but December has gotten off to a hot start for Palm Beach County's boys and girls basketball teams.

Below, get familiar with the forces on the floor who are making big differences for their squads early.

Boys basketball top performers

King Bridgett, Sr., Somerset Academy-Canyons − The guard's 18-point performance in a 44-39 win over Inlet Grove on Monday sees the Cougars to 5-0.

Xavian Charles, Jr., Grandview Prep − Last week against Highlands Christian and Somerset Academy-Key, Charles dropped 18 points in each outing. The Pride are 6-1.

Haddy Cohen, So., Olympic Heights − Don't let the Lions' 2-5 record fool you. They're playing a gauntlet of a schedule, and it looks like Cohen is finding his stride.

Before 18 points, five assists, and six rebounds against Pine Crest on Monday, Cohen posted 14 points and 12 rebounds against West Boca, as well as 19 points and six rebounds against Cardinal Newman. The Lions lost the latter two games by three points and two points, respectively.

Ray Ray Collum, Jr., Jupiter − Jupiter's team captain has quarterbacked the Warriors to a 3-1 record as they started the season this month. Collum led scoring for his team with 15 points in a season opener loss to Suncoast and went on to spark a winning streak with eight assists against Glades Central and, most recently, Palm Beach Gardens, against whom he also scored 12 points.

Jayden Coney, Sr., Royal Palm Beach − The point guard is packing a punch for the Wildcats, who are 5-2 this season. In both a tough, one-point loss to Palm Beach Central and getting back in the win column this week against Pahokee, Coney dropped 17 points.

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Elyjah Freeman, Sr. Wellington − Freeman has hit double digits in undefeated Wellington's last three matchups.

Against Atlantic, he contributed 16 points, six rebounds and five blocks. Against Lake Worth Christian, he delivered 14 points, six of them being 2-pointers. To start off another week of competition, Freeman chipped in 10 points and five blocks against Palm Beach Lakes on Monday.

Javian Jones, Jr., King's Academy − The Lions are loaded, but Jones is the leader of the pack.

After suffering a five-point loss to rival Benjamin on Dec. 1, King's is back on track with three straight wins. In the returning 3A state semifinalist's last matchups against Royal Palm Beach and Boynton Beach, the point guard netted 28 points in each.

Jaelen Nelson, Sr., Dwyer − The 6A state champ Panthers are 5-1 heading into another week on what they hope is a road back to Lakeland. To pick up Dwyer's first win of December, Nelson stuffed the book with 20 points and handed Palm Beach Lakes a 57-46 L.

Reggie Reinhardt, Sr., Wellington − Reinhardt's work from downtown hasn't gone unnoticed this December. Nine points and five assists against Lakes seem like a calm night for the guard when compared with outings at Atlantic and Lake Worth Christian, where he banked 20 and 21 points, respectively. In both games, he sank four 3-pointers.

Sean Standifer, Jr., Lake Worth − A standout as expected, Standifer is averaging double digits as Lake Worth looks to return to the Class 7A final four this winter after a 2023 season cut short.

The Trojans won six before taking their first loss of the season at the Sunbash Tourney in Miami when paired with American Heritage-Plantation, but it wasn't for a lack of trying from Standifer, who led the Wolverines with 16 points.

Louis Stoitchkov, Jr., Somerset Canyons − The Cougars stayed undefeated against Katz Yeshiva last Thursday with a 67-58 victory over the Storm. Twenty-eight of Somerset's points — plus two rebounds and two steals — came from Stoitchkov.

Kevin Ulysse, Sr., Atlantic − Dealing Park Vista its greatest margin of defeat last Tuesday, 20 points and 13 rebounds for Ulysse saw Atlantic break even on the year. The Eagles are now 3-3 after a 76-69 takedown of the Cobras.

Brooklyn Vick, Sr., St Andrew's − With a 7-1 start to the season, Vick is going out on a high note. His best stat line so far this year came in an 82-47 slashing of Benjamin. The point guard dropped 20 points, four rebounds, and saw season highs in assists and steals with 10 and eight, respectively.

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Girls basketball top performers

Jade Jones, Jr., King's − Jones added up a game-high 19 points in a 69-51 over Somerset College Prep last Thursday. Currently 7-2 on the season, the junior is the scoring leader for the Lions.

Myla Jones, Sr., Palm Beach Lakes − The senior's stat line made for quite the rout of Royal Palm Beach last Monday. The Wildcats fell 64-7 as Jones racked up 17 points, 12 rebounds, an assist and seven steals.

Ameera Koné, Fr., Boca Raton − A 47-45 loss to Westminster Academy on Tuesday snapped a five-game win streak for the Bobcats, forged with the help of Koné's efforts in overtime against Somerset Academy-Canyons and Fleming High, a playoff contender out of Virginia.

Against the Cougars, the freshman recorded 20 points in the 76-71 win. Against the Colonels, she had 23, plus five assists and five rebounds for a 58-53 dub.

Jayla Midget, Jr., Seminole Ridge − The Hawks, now 3-2, got back to their winning ways on Tuesday against Cardinal Newman, but Midget's been instrumental in victory and defeat. In a 59-48 loss to Somerset Canyons last Thursday, the team captain posted 19 points, four rebounds and two steals.

Midget reintroduced herself as one to watch in Ridge's season opener with 25 points in a 50-30 defeat of Jupiter.

Alana Pinnock, 8th, Somerset Canyons − Age is but a number and Pinnock's impact has proved it. One of Somerset's two losses on the season came in overtime against Boca Raton, but not for a lack of effort from Pinnock, who contributed 15 points, eight rebounds, six assists and seven steals.

She bounced back to help the Cougars to a 59-48 win at Seminole Ridge last Thursday, where she had 14 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, two steals and three blocks. The next day, Pinnock saw Somerset to a 70-20 win against West Boca Raton, dropping 12 points with seven rebounds, six assists, six steals and two blocks.

Kyana Poitier, Sr., Palm Beach Gardens − Thirty points and 23 rebounds against Olympic Heights on Tuesday were the highlights of an unbelievable season so far from Poitier. The senior had 17 points and 17 rebounds with five steals against Jupiter last Friday. Last Wednesday against Suncoast, she posted 24 points and 16 rebounds.

For a 72-57 win over Palm Beach Central last Monday, Poitier netted 31 points and 15 rebounds. That's not including how she started the month against Seminole Ridge, propelling the Gators to a 57-49 win with 21 points, 23 rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Savanna Smith, Jr., St. Andrew's − With former FAMU women's basketball coach Shalon Pillow at the helm, the Scots are 4-1, led by impressive performances from Smith.

Against Pine Crest last Friday, the junior made 16 points of 38 put up by St. Andrew's, adding a rebound and two steals. To clinch a 59-14 win over St. John Paull II last Wednesday, she had 13, plus two rebounds, two assists and a block.

Elanie Sullard, Sr., Atlantic − The Eagles remain undefeated with unbeatable performances from Sullard. The team captain recorded her fourth straight 22-plus point performance in a 54-45 win over Palm Beach Lakes for Atlantic's seventh victory this season. She also had five blocks and six steals.

Emilee Smarr is a sports reporter for The Palm Beach Post. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach County high school basketball top December performers