Preview: The Villages Charter Buffalo vs. Eustis Panthers
The Villages Charter Buffalo are on the road again on Saturday and plays the Eustis Panthers at 7:30 p.m. on February 10th. The Villages Charter knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with flashy point totals in its past 15 matchups -- so hopefully Eustis likes a good challenge.
The Villages Charter extended their postseason success on Thursday against Umatilla. They breezed by the Bulldogs on the road to the tune of 89-62. The Villages Charter's offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
The Villages Charter's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jared Thompson, who scored 25 points along with six rebounds and three steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Thompson has scored all season. Ben Koubek was another key contributor, scoring 19 points along with five rebounds.
Meanwhile, Eustis came tearing into Thursday's match with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 20.6 points) and they left with even more momentum. They came out on top against South Sumter by a score of 72-61. Given Eustis' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 69th, while South Sumter is ranked 290th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Eustis relied on the efforts of Timothy Key, who scored 16 points, and Jayveon Dale, who scored 21 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Cornelius Hines, who scored ten points.
The Villages Charter is on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 12 contests, which provided a massive bump to their 16-11 record this season. As for Eustis, their victory bumped their record up to 21-4.
Keep an eye on the arc in Saturday's contest: The Villages Charter have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 44% of their threes per game. It's a different story for Eustis, though, as they've only made 9.76% of their threes this season. Given The Villages Charter's sizable advantage in that area, Eustis will need to find a way to close that gap.
The Villages Charter strolled past Eustis in their previous matchup back in February of 2023 by a score of 69-50. Will The Villages Charter repeat their success, or does Eustis have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
