Basketball Game Preview: Gibbs Gladiators vs. East Lake Eagles

The Gibbs Gladiators are taking a road trip to take on the East Lake Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. One thing working in Gibbs' favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last 15 matchups.

On Friday, Gibbs beat Victory Christian Academy 64-57.

Meanwhile, you're bound to get a positive result if you outscore your opponent every quarter, and that's exactly how it played out for East Lake on Tuesday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that they blew Palm Harbor University out of the water with an 80-43 final score. The Eagles have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten contests by 20 points or more this season.

Gibbs better focus on containing Jeremiah Cooper and Jordan Bryant as the pair were huge in East Lake's win. Cooper went 8 for 12 from beyond the arc on his way to 30 points and four steals, while Bryant went 6 of 10 en route to 14 points along with five rebounds and five blocks. Bryant is on a roll when it comes to blocks, as he's now posted four or more in the last eight games he's played. Another player making a difference was Andre Willis, who posted ten points and five boards.

East Lake pushed their record up to 18-6 with the victory, which was their eighth straight on the road dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 71.4 points per game. As for Gibbs, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 16 of their last 17 games, which provided a nice bump to their 20-4 record this season.

Gibbs came out on top in a nail-biter against East Lake when the teams last played back in January of 2023, sneaking past 64-61. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was East Lake's Justin Kruszewski, who went 9 of 16 en route to 27 points and five rebounds. Now that he won't be playing on Saturday, will it be easier for Gibbs to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.