Basketball Game Preview: Malone Tigers vs. Blountstown Tigers

Malone is 0-4 against Blountstown since November of 2023 but things could change on Saturday. The Malone Tigers will square off against the Blountstown Tigers. Both are strolling into their matchups after big wins in their previous games.

Malone is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They blew past Liberty County, posting a 61-16 victory. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win the Tigers have posted since December 17, 2024.

Meanwhile, Blountstown had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 39 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Thursday. They breezed by the Wildcats to the tune of 52-15. Given the Tigers' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 221st, while the Wildcats are ranked 583rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Blountstown has also been performing well recently as they've won eight of their last ten games, which provided a nice bump to their 17-6 record this season. The wins came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 19.3 points per game. As for Malone, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 7-10.

Malone was taken down by Blountstown 58-23 when the teams last played back in December of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Blountstown's Cyianna Smith, who went 12 for 18 on her way to 25 points along with five rebounds and three steals. Now that Malone knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.