Basketball Recap: Bartow Picks Up Fourth Consecutive Win

Bartow extended their winning streak to four on Wednesday, bumping them up to 14-1. They came out on top in a nail-biter against The Villages Charter Buffalo, sneaking past 72-70. The victory was all the more spectacular given the Yellow Jackets' disadvantage in MaxPreps' national basketball rankings (they are ranked 64th, while the Buffalo are ranked 14th).

Ja'Kylen Crossley

Points

12/31/25 @ The Villages Charter	18
12/30/25 vs St. Mary's	17
12/29/25 vs De La Salle	30
12/23/25 vs Campbell	16
12/22/25 vs Westlake	20

Bartow's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Ja'Kylen Crossley, who went 6-for-10 on his way to 18 points. The contest was Crossley's fifth in a row with at least 16 points. James Ratteree was another key player, almost dropping a double-double with 13 points and nine assists.

Bartow was working as a unit and finished the game with 18 assists. They racked up eight more assists than The Villages Charter's also-impressive total of ten.

As for The Villages Charter, their loss ended an eight-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 10-4. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game on Tuesday (67), they still had to take the loss.

The Villages Charter lost despite a true team effort on offense. The best among them was Herly Brutus, who almost dropped a double-double with 14 points and nine boards. He is also on a roll when it comes to field goal percentage, as he's posted one of at least 63% in the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Camryn Lee, who shot 75% from the field to rack up 14 points.

Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Bartow will challenge Lakeland at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. As for The Villages Charter, they will square off against Raines at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. The Buffalo's defense better be ready for this one: the Vikings have averaged an impressive 54.4 points per game this season.