Basketball Game Preview: Paxton Bobcats vs. Jay Royals

The Paxton Bobcats will head out to take on the Jay Royals at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. Paxton is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 55 points per game this season.

It was a proper cat-fight when Paxton duked it out with Central on Thursday. Paxton sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 48-45 victory over Central. The win continues a trend for the Bobcats in their matchups with the Jaguars: they've now won three in a row.

Kenzie Lassiter

Rebounds

02/06/25 vs Central	6
01/17/25 vs Central	2
01/14/25 @ Poplar Springs	3
01/13/25 @ West Florida Baptist Academy	2
01/10/25 vs Florala	2
+ 9 more games

Paxton found their leader in sophomore Kenzie Lassiter, who posted 19 points and six boards. That's the most rebounds Lassiter has posted since back in December of 2024. Another player making a difference was Emily Ward, who scored six points.

Meanwhile, it can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Jay had no problem doing just that on Thursday. They came out on top against the Hoboes by a score of 63-54. Given the Royals' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 79th, while the Hoboes are ranked 248th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

The victory made it two in a row for Jay and bumps their season record up to 18-3. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 64.0 points over those games. As for Paxton, their record now sits at 19-3.

Paxton suffered a grim 58-37 defeat to Jay in their previous meeting back in January. Can Paxton avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.