Basketball Game Preview: DeSoto County Bulldogs vs. Lemon Bay Manta Rays

The DeSoto County Bulldogs will challenge the Lemon Bay Manta Rays at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. The two teams are strolling into their matchups after big wins in their previous games.

DeSoto County is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They breezed by Island Coast to the tune of 69-23. The Bulldogs have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight games by 23 points or more this season.

Meanwhile, Lemon Bay came tearing into Thursday's contest with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 13.8 points) and they left with even more momentum. They took their match with ease, bagging a 62-25 win over the Cowboys/Cowgirls. Given the Manta Rays' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 158th, while the Cowboys/Cowgirls are ranked 472nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

DeSoto County is also on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games, which provided a nice bump to their 18-6 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 58.2 points per game. As for Lemon Bay, their victory was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-9.

DeSoto County lost to Lemon Bay on the road by a decisive 63-48 margin in their previous matchup back in January of 2023. Can DeSoto County avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.