Basketball Game Preview: Gateway Eagles vs. Palmetto Ridge Bears

The Gateway Eagles will square off against the Palmetto Ridge Bears at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Gateway is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They were the clear victor by an 87-67 margin over East Lee County. Given the Eagles' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 236th, while the Jaguars are ranked 611th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Palmetto Ridge waltzed into their contest on Wednesday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They came out on top against the Indians by a score of 68-57.

Palmetto Ridge's win came from a few key players Gateway will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Gavin Neugent, who went 7 of 9 on his way to 18 points. Evan Adams was another key player, going 8 for 15 en route to 17 points.

Gateway is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 16-8 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 75.7 points per game. As for Palmetto Ridge, their victory bumped their record up to 18-8.