Preview: Atlantic Sharks vs. Mainland Buccaneers
The Atlantic Sharks will be staying on the road on Wednesday to face off against the Mainland Buccaneers at 7:00 p.m. on January 24th. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Even though Atlantic has not done well against Flagler Palm Coast recently (they were 0-5 in their previous five matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Saturday. Atlantic managed a 68-62 win over Flagler Palm Coast.
In what's become a running theme this season, Mainland gave their fans yet another huge victory on Saturday. They blew past Pine Ridge 74-37 on the road. Given Mainland's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 48th, while Pine Ridge is ranked 428th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Mainland relied on the efforts of Nathan Kirk, who scored 20 points along with seven steals and six assists, and Narayan Thomas, who dropped a double-double on 27 points and ten rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Thomas has scored all season. DeAndre Newland was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with nine rebounds.
Atlantic is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games, which provided a massive bump to their 11-7 record this season. As for Mainland, their victory bumped their record up to 14-5.
Atlantic took a serious blow against Mainland in their previous matchup back in January of 2023, falling 67-30. Can Atlantic avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
