Basketball Game Preview: Paxton Bobcats vs. Baker Gators

Paxton has gone 8-2 against Baker recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Paxton Bobcats will square off against the Baker Gators at 7:00 p.m. Paxton is coming into the game hot, having won their last three games.

Paxton will head into Wednesday's match hoping to keep the good times rolling: they proved they can win big on Monday (they won by 36) and on Wednesday they proved they can win the close ones too. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Jay 54-51.

Ryker Stokes

Points

12/10/24 @ Laurel Hill	23
01/11/24 @ Laurel Hill	20
12/03/24 vs Jay	19
02/05/25 @ Jay	15
11/18/24 vs Ponce De Leon	15

Paxton's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Ryker Stokes, who went 6 of 14 en route to 15 points and three steals. That's the most points Stokes has posted since back in December of 2024. Another player making a difference was Wade Borgesen, who went 5 for 12 on his way to 15 points along with six rebounds and three steals.

Meanwhile, it's playoff time, and Baker had no trouble coming through when it counted. They came out on top against Laurel Hill by a score of 56-45 on Wednesday. Given the Gators' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 350th, while the Hoboes are ranked 725th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Paxton is also on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight contests, which provided a massive bump to their 14-11 record this season. As for Baker, they pushed their record up to 19-4 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home.

Paxton came up short against Baker in their previous matchup back in December of 2024, falling 38-25. Can Paxton avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.