Basketball Game Preview: Plant City Raiders vs. Sarasota Sailors

The Plant City Raiders will take on the Sarasota Sailors at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Plant City is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They walked away with a 72-63 victory over Lehigh.

Gavin Tinsley

Field Goal Percentage

02/12/25 vs Lehigh	63%
02/07/25 vs Newsome	55%
02/05/25 vs George Jenkins	67%
01/30/25 vs Armwood	50%
01/28/25 vs Chamberlain	54%
+ 13 more games

Gavin Tinsley and Laurice Hamilton were among the main playmakers for Plant City as the former dropped a double-double with 20 points and 17 boards and the latter dropped a double-double with 23 points and 13 rebounds. Tinsley is also on a roll when it comes to shooting accuracy, as he's posted one of at least 45% in the last 18 games he's played. Vare Miller was another key player, putting up ten points.

Plant City smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in 11 consecutive matches.

Meanwhile, Sarasota waltzed into their contest on Wednesday with 15 straight wins... but they left with 16. They blew past the Eagles 81-58. The Sailors have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 15 games by 21 points or more this season.

Plant City better keep an eye on John Lackaff. He was instrumental in Sarasota's win, going 10-for-15 to rack up 30 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Oliver Boyle, who went 5-for-11 on his way to 11 points along with seven boards and five assists.

Plant City is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 19-8 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 70.8 points over those games. As for Sarasota, their record now sits at 26-2.

Plant City was dealt a bruising 81-45 defeat at the hands of Sarasota when the teams last played back in December of 2024. Can Plant City avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.