Basketball Game Preview: Palmetto Panthers vs. Casteel Colts

The Palmetto Panthers will take on the Casteel Colts in a holiday battle at at 8:15 p.m. on Wednesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Casteel is hoping to do what Ferguson couldn't on Friday: put an end to Palmetto's winning streak, which now stands at three games. Palmetto simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Ferguson 90-60. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 111th, while the Falcons are ranked 603rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Santiago Henriquez was his usual excellent self, going 15 for 25 on his way to 40 points and three steals. That makes it four consecutive games in which he has scored at least a third of Palmetto's points. Samfree Sarante was another key player, going 5 of 7 on his way to 14 points along with five assists and four steals.

Meanwhile, Casteel entered their tilt with Corona del Sol on Monday with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They took their contest with ease, bagging a 73-29 victory over the Aztecs. The matchup marked the Colts' most dominant win of the season so far.

Casteel's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 5-4. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 67.3 points per game. As for Palmetto, their win bumped their record up to 6-2.