Basketball Game Preview: Largo Packers vs. Clearwater Tornadoes

The Largo Packers will take on the Clearwater Tornadoes in a holiday battle at at 7:45 p.m. on Friday.

Last Friday, Largo lost to Countryside at home by a 63-44 margin. While losing is never fun, the Packers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 530th, while the Cougars are ranked 148th).

Meanwhile, Clearwater put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They claimed a resounding 80-43 win over Pinellas Park. The Tornadoes have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five matchups by 27 points or more this season.

Clearwater's win came from a few key players Largo will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Keshawn Andrews, who went 7 of 11 en route to 18 points and four steals. His evening made it four games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Zain Watson, who went 5 of 10 on his way to 14 points and three steals.

Clearwater smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive boards they've managed all season.

Clearwater pushed their record up to 6-0 with the victory, which was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 67.0 points per game. As for Largo, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 2-9.

Largo didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Clearwater in their previous matchup back in December of 2023, but they still walked away with a 56-51 win. Does Largo have another victory up their sleeve, or will Clearwater turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.