Basketball Game Preview: Poinciana Eagles vs. Foundation Academy Lions

The Poinciana Eagles will face off against the Foundation Academy Lions at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Poinciana is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 57.7 points per game this season.

Last Wednesday, Poinciana was just a bucket shy of victory and fell 57-56 to Dr. Phillips.

Despite their loss, Poinciana saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Javonte Simpson-Lee, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 17 boards, was perhaps the best of all. Simpson-Lee is crushing it when it comes to rebounds: he's pulled down at least eight every time he's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Kobie Brown, who posted 14 points and seven boards.

Meanwhile, Foundation Academy posted their biggest victory since December 12, 2024 on Thursday. They claimed a resounding 90-59 win over West Orange. Given the Lions 's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 175th, while the Warriors are ranked 381st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Poinciana better focus on containing Alex Nichols and Riley Michels as the pair were huge in Foundation Academy's win. Nichols dropped a double-double on 26 points and 12 rebounds, while Michels went 7 for 13 on his way to 21 points and seven blocks. The dominant performance gave Nichols a new career-high in boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Josh Mercado, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and ten rebounds.

Foundation Academy is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 16-8 record this season. As for Poinciana, they have also traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 15-8 record this season.

Poinciana came up short against Foundation Academy in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, falling 71-66. Can Poinciana avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.