Basketball Game Preview: Westwood Panthers vs. Tradition Prep Pirates

The Westwood Panthers just played yesterday, but they'll still head out to face the Tradition Prep Pirates at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Westwood knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past three matches -- so hopefully Tradition Prep likes a good challenge.

On Tuesday, Westwood came up short against Jupiter and fell 64-57. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 196th, while the Warriors are ranked 41st).

Marquan Burgess

Steals (Career)

01/07/25 @ Jupiter	7
12/19/24 vs Jensen Beach	4
01/24/24 @ Lincoln Park Academy	4
01/23/24 vs South Fork	3
12/12/23 vs Central	3

Westwood might have lost, but man, Marquan Burgess was a machine: he went 8 for 16 on his way to 22 points and seven steals. Those seven steals gave Burgess a new career-high. Jordan Crutchfield was another key player, dropping a double-double on 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Meanwhile, Tradition Prep hadn't done well against Okeechobee recently (they were 0-3 in their previous three matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. Tradition Prep pulled ahead with a 61-60 photo finish over Okeechobee.

Westwood dropped their record down to 8-6 with the defeat, which was their third straight on the road. As for Tradition Prep, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight games, which provided a massive bump to their 9-5 record this season.

Westwood came up short against Tradition Prep in their previous matchup back in January of 2024, falling 63-53. Can Westwood avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.