Basketball Recap: Vanguard Falls Despite Big Games from Brian Glover and Turral Berry

Vanguard was the 70-64 winner over Excel Christian Academy when they last played one another back in February of 2023, but their luck changed this time around. The Vanguard Panthers fell to the Excel Christian Academy Spartans 78-73. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game last Friday (62), the Panthers still had to take the loss.

Turral Berry

Points

01/27/25 @ Excel Christian Academy	32
01/24/25 @ Liberty	27
01/21/25 @ New Dimensions	29
01/18/25 @ Wekiva	24
01/16/25 @ Auburndale	24

Vanguard's loss on Monday came despite strong showings from Turral Berry and Brian Glover. Berry posted 32 points and four steals, while Glover earned 16 points along with six assists and six steals. The matchup was Berry's seventh in a row with at least ten points. Jakhai Ford was another key player, putting up four points in addition to seven assists and five rebounds.

They weren't the only one working in the assists department: Vanguard was working as a unit and finished the game with 18 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in November of 2024.

This is the second loss in a row for Vanguard and nudges their season record down to 7-12. As for Excel Christian Academy, the win snapped their losing streak at five games and leaves them with a 2-10 record.

Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. A feisty cat fight is on tap when the Vanguard Panthers duke it out with the Hardee Wildcats at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday. Vanguard is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 65.8 points per game this season. Excel Christian Academy has already played their next contest (against Calusa Prep), but no score has been uploaded at the time of writing.