Basketball Game Preview: St. Cloud Bulldogs vs. Osceola Kowboys

St. Cloud hasn't had much luck against Osceola recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The St. Cloud Bulldogs will challenge the Osceola Kowboys at 7:00 p.m. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

St. Cloud will head into Wednesday's matchup having proved themselves against Gateway: St. Cloud took a 31-point loss the last time they faced off against Gateway, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. St. Cloud sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 42-39 win over Gateway on Wednesday. Given the Bulldogs' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 42nd, while the Panthers are ranked 201st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Osceola had already won 12 in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 20.8 points) and they went ahead and made it 13 on Wednesday. They blew past the Longhorns 74-50. The Kowboys have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven games by 23 points or more this season.

Osceola's win came from a few key players St. Cloud will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Jordan Isaac, who went 7 of 17 on his way to 23 points and three blocks. The team also got some help courtesy of Jordan Mason, who went 6 for 14 en route to 20 points and three steals.

Osceola pushed their record up to 17-1 with the victory, which was their 13th straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 70.7 points per game. As for St. Cloud, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 18-2.

St. Cloud took a serious blow against Osceola in their previous matchup back in January of 2023, falling 71-23. Can St. Cloud avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.