Basketball Preview: Gulf Buccaneers vs. Fivay Falcons
Gulf is 0-10 against the Falcons since January of 2020 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Gulf Buccaneers will head out on the road to take on the Fivay Falcons at 7:00 p.m. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Gulf has not had quite the year their fans were hoping for to this point, but back-to-back wins may be a sign of good things to come. They came out on top against Land O' Lakes by a score of 56-49 on Wednesday.
Jaydn Wood was his usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 18 points and 14 rebounds. He hasn't dropped below eight rebounds for four straight games. Another player making a difference was William Ruffin, who scored eight points along with seven rebounds and six assists.
Meanwhile, Fivay's game on Friday was all tied up 24-24 at the half, but luckily for them it didn't stay that way. They strolled past Pasco with points to spare, taking the game 65-47.
Fivay's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Orvill Ortiz, who scored 14 points along with seven rebounds. Antwan Brown was another key contributor, scoring 13 points along with six rebounds and five assists.
Gulf's victory bumped their record up to 8-15. As for Fivay, they are on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 14-11 record this season.
Tuesday's contest will pit two of the most dominant guards against one another: Wood and Brown. Wood has been dynamite this season: he has averaged 10.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.1 steals. For his part, Brown has averaged 11.2 points, 1.7 steals, and 3.8 assists.
Gulf suffered a grim 62-40 defeat to the Falcons in their previous meeting back in December of 2023. Can Gulf avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
