Basketball Game Preview: Varela Vipers vs. Coral Park Rams

The Varela Vipers will head out on the road to take on the Coral Park Rams at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Varela has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.

Last Tuesday, everything went Varela's way against Mater Brickell Academy as Varela made off with a 68-43 victory. The Vipers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six matches by 25 points or more this season.

Meanwhile, Coral Park played a tough contest last Wednesday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They were outmatched by Columbus and fell 91-35. While losing is never fun, the Rams can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 279th, while the Explorers are ranked first).

Varela's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 9-5. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 58.0 points per game. As for Coral Park, they have been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five games, which put a noticeable dent in their 9-9 record this season.

Varela lost to Coral Park on the road by a decisive 56-42 margin in their previous matchup back in December of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Coral Park's Angel Lara, who almost dropped a double-double on 23 points and nine boards. Now that Varela knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.