Basketball Recap: Gulf Comes Up Short

Gulf lost against Wiregrass Ranch back in December of 2014 and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Wednesday. The Gulf Buccaneers took a hard 78-62 fall against the Wiregrass Ranch Bulls. While losing is never fun, the Buccaneers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 362nd, while the Bulls are ranked 79th).

Despite the loss, Gulf still got an impressive performance from Jaydn Wood, who almost dropped a double-double on 17 points and nine rebounds. Another player making a difference was Carlos Domenech, who posted 11 points and four steals.

Kj Smith was his usual excellent self, going 13 for 22 en route to 35 points and five steals for Wiregrass Ranch. That's the most steals Smith has posted since back in February of 2024. Donovan Gaines was another key player, dropping a double-double on 12 points and 11 boards.

Gulf has traveled a rocky road recently having lost four of their last five matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 14-8 record this season. As for Wiregrass Ranch, the win was the fourth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 17-6.

Gulf will challenge Sunlake at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Gulf is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 60.8 points per game this season. As for Wiregrass Ranch, they will be taking part in a tournament against Wesley Chapel at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Wesley Chapel has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last four games.