Basketball Game Preview: Bartram Trail Bears vs. Nease Panthers

The Bartram Trail Bears will head out on the road to face off against the Nease Panthers at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Bartram Trail is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 58.3 points per game this season.

Bartram Trail is headed into the match after thoroughly thrashing Fleming Island: they outscored them in every quarter. Bartram Trail enjoyed a cozy 59-42 win over Fleming Island on Monday. While the Bears didn't have the best season last year (they finished 6-14), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.

Bartram Trail's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Alyssa Donohue led the charge by going 10 for 19 on her way to 21 points in addition to six steals and five assists. The dominant performance gave Donohue a new career-high in assists. The team also got some help courtesy of Esabella Brenneman, who posted 11 points along with seven assists and seven steals.

Meanwhile, Nease was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Tuesday as they fell 43-38 to St. Augustine. The Panthers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Bartram Trail's victory was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-1. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.0 points per game. As for Nease, they now have a losing record at 3-4.

Bartram Trail came out on top in a nail-biter against Nease when the teams last played back in January, sneaking past 40-37. Does Bartram Trail have another victory up their sleeve, or will Nease turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.