Preview: Centennial Eagles vs. Melbourne Bulldogs
Centennial has enjoyed a five-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They and the Melbourne Bulldogs will face off at 7:30 p.m. on February 1st without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Centennial has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 268 points over their last four matches.
Centennial scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Tuesday. They took down Heritage 87-71. Given Centennial's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 85th, while the Panthers are ranked 387th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Louis Llinas was his usual excellent self, almost dropping a double-double on 17 points and nine rebounds. He is trending in the right direction, as he's improved his point production for three games straight. The team also got some help courtesy of Felix Buroz, who scored ten points along with five assists and two steals.
Meanwhile, Melbourne's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Wednesday after their third straight loss. They were the victim of a rough 74-53 defeat at the hands of The First Academy. Melbourne was down 54-33 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from.
Centennial pushed their record up to 17-7 with that victory, which was their third straight at home. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 71.0 points per game. As for Melbourne, they have been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-14 record this season.
Centennial was able to grind out a solid victory over the Bulldogs in their previous meeting back in January of 2023, winning 66-57. The rematch might be a little tougher for Centennial since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
