Recap: Bartow Yellow Jackets vs. Kathleen Red Devils
Make it seven blowout wins for the Bartow Yellow Jackets this season. Everything went their way against Kathleen on Friday as Bartow made off with a 56-35 victory. Given Bartow's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 137th, while the Red Devils are ranked 570th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Bartow had a senior duo take command as Edward Wiggins dropped a double-double on 15 points and ten rebounds and Daniel Thompson scored 16 points along with eight rebounds. It was the first time this season that Thompson pulled down eight or more rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Antwan Willis, who scored seven points.
Kathleen lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Rashard Kelly, who scored 11 points. Another player making a difference was Jaiziah Battle, who scored 12 points.
Bartow's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-8. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.3 points per game. As for Kathleen, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 3-14.
Bartow won't have much time to rest: their next match is against the Cobras at 2:40 p.m. on January 20th. Central is strutting with some offensive muscle, as they've averaged 66.8 points per game this season. As for Kathleen, they will look to defend their home court on Friday against the Spartans at 7:00 p.m. Sports Leadership & Management is strutting with some offensive muscle, as they've averaged 67.4 points per game this season.