Basketball Game Preview: Ridgeview Panthers vs. Tavares Bulldogs

The Ridgeview Panthers will wrap up 2024 with a road trip to face off against the Tavares Bulldogs at 1:30 p.m. on Friday. Ridgeview is coming into the contest on a three-game losing streak.

Ridgeview came up short against Clay on Thursday, falling 56-36.

Despite the loss, Ridgeview had strong showings from Jameer Castillo, who posted 14 points and three steals, and Steven Yamamoto, who put up nine points and eight rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of William Zeigler, who had three points.

Meanwhile, Tavares lost to Leesburg on the road by a 59-43 margin on Saturday. While losing is never fun, the Bulldogs can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 403rd, while the Yellow Jackets are ranked 163rd).

This is the second loss in a row for Tavares and nudges their season record down to 4-5. As for Ridgeview, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-8.

Ridgeview was able to grind out a solid win over Tavares in their previous meeting back in December of 2023, winning 39-32. Does Ridgeview have another victory up their sleeve, or will Tavares turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.