Basketball Game Preview: Lakewood Ranch Mustangs vs. North Port Bobcats

The Lakewood Ranch Mustangs will challenge the North Port Bobcats at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Last Thursday, Lakewood Ranch beat Parrish Community 47-34. Given the Mustangs' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 186th, while the Bulls are ranked 424th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, you can't lose the game if you win every quarter, and that was precisely North Port's strategy against Parrish Community on Friday. North Port walked away with a 50-40 victory over Parrish Community. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Bobcats.

Lakewood Ranch pushed their record up to 12-4 with the win, which was their seventh straight at home. As for North Port, their victory bumped their record up to 10-8.

Lakewood Ranch strolled past North Port when the teams last played back in December of 2024 by a score of 45-29. The rematch might be a little tougher for Lakewood Ranch since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.