Preview: Boone Braves vs. Lake Buena Vista Vipers
The Boone Braves will be playing at home against the Lake Buena Vista Vipers at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Boone has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.
Boone scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Tuesday. They were the clear victor by a 85-63 margin over Tohopekaliga. Given Boone's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 118th, while the Tigers are ranked 381st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Cheo James continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, scoring 31 points along with six rebounds. Connor Summer was another key contributor, scoring nine points.
Meanwhile, even though Tohopekaliga scored an imposing 62 points on Wednesday, Lake Buena Vista still came out on top. Lake Buena Vista strolled past the Tigers with points to spare, taking the game 77-62. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Lake Buena Vista.
Lake Buena Vista got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Travis Ligene out in front who scored 19 points along with five rebounds and five steals. Another player making a difference was Bryan Mwangovya, who scored 21 points.
The victory got Boone back to even at 11-11. As for Lake Buena Vista, their win ended a four-game drought at home and bumped them up to 9-15.
Thursday's contest is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Boone have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 45.6% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Lake Buena Vista struggles in that department as they've made 39.3% of their threes this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Boone didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against the Vipers in their previous matchup back in January of 2023, but they still walked away with a 66-61 win. Does Boone have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Vipers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
