Preview: Taylor County Bulldogs vs. Madison County Cowboys
Taylor County is 2-8 against Madison County since February of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The Taylor County Bulldogs will be staying on the road to face off against the Madison County Cowboys at 7:30 p.m. on January 20th. Hopefully Taylor County focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up eight on Saturday.
Taylor County struggled with assists on Saturday (Community Leadership Academy had seven more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Taylor County was just a bucket shy of victory and fell 47-46 to Community Leadership Academy.
The losing side was boosted by Jakari Jackson, who scored 18 points along with six assists and three steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points he has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Allen Collier, who scored 11 points along with nine rebounds.
Meanwhile, Madison County came up short against Crossroad Academy on Tuesday and fell 55-43. While losing is never fun, Madison County can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 512th, while Crossroad Academy is ranked 213th).
Despite the defeat, Madison County had strong showings from Labron Lee, who scored 19 points along with five rebounds, and Marcus Hawkins jr., who scored 12 points along with seven rebounds and four steals. Lee is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 15 or more in the last seven games he's played. Za?vion Bryant was another key contributor, scoring six points along with six rebounds and two steals.
Taylor County's record now sits at 8-7. Madison County's record now sits at 5-9.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Taylor County have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 33.5 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Madison County, though, as they've been averaging only 26.6 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Taylor County was able to grind out a solid victory over Madison County when the teams last played back in December of 2023, winning 48-40. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Hawkins jr., who scored 19 points along with five rebounds and two steals. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Taylor County still be able to contain him? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
