Basketball Game Preview: Keys Gate Knights vs. St. John Paul II Panthers

The Keys Gate Knights will be taking part in a tournament against the St. John Paul II Panthers at 12:00 p.m. on Friday. Having both just faced considerable losses, both teams are looking to turn things around.

Keys Gate lost 56-30 to Dade Christian on Wednesday. While losing is never fun, the Knights can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 394th, while the Warriors are ranked 116th).

Meanwhile, St. John Paul II suffered their biggest loss since February 15th last Friday. They came up short against Lincoln, falling 61-37. The match marked the Panthers' lowest-scoring game so far this season.

Keys Gate will have to contain Mario Forbes as he made an impact in St. John Paul II's last game. He dropped a double-double on 17 points and 20 boards. Forbes is crushing it when it comes to rebounds: he's pulled down at least 11 every time he's taken the court this season.

Even though they lost, St. John Paul II smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in 15 consecutive contests dating back to last season.

St. John Paul II's defeat dropped their record down to 6-3. As for Keys Gate, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 4-4.