Basketball Game Preview: IMG Academy White Ascenders vs. Lakewood Spartans

The IMG Academy White Ascenders will face off against the Lakewood Spartans at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. IMG Academy White will be strutting in after a win while Lakewood will be coming in after a loss.

IMG Academy White is coming into the matchup on the come-up as their season has now been buoyed by two straight victories. They came out on top against Archbishop Carroll by a score of 42-30 on Friday. That looming 42-30 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Ascenders yet this season.

Meanwhile, Lakewood was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their fifth straight defeat. They took a blow against Gibbs, falling 74-40. While losing is never fun, the Spartans can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 289th, while the Gladiators are ranked 11th).

Lakewood's loss dropped their record down to 8-12. As for IMG Academy White, their win bumped their record up to 5-12.

IMG Academy White came up short against Lakewood when the teams last played back in January of 2024, falling 54-46. Can IMG Academy White avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.