Basketball Game Preview: Benjamin Buccaneers vs. Pine Crest Panthers

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Previous Games

11/30/23 - Away	34-64 L
01/09/23 - Home	64-45 W
12/06/21 - Away	62-30 W
12/01/20 - Home	51-21 W
12/10/19 - Away	66-17 W
+ 4 more games

Benjamin is 8-1 against Pine Crest since January of 2017 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. The Buccaneers will challenge the Panthers at 5:00 p.m. Benjamin will be strutting in after a victory while Pine Crest will be coming in after a defeat.

If Pine Crest heads into halftime all tied up, they better play a good second half: that's when Benjamin took over last week. The Buccaneers narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past Jupiter Christian 41-38.

Benjamin's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Kinzie Bunting led the charge by almost dropping a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds. What's more, Bunting also posted a 33% three-point shooting accuracy, which is the highest she's achieved since back in November of 2024. CJ Smith was another key player, putting up eight points in addition to 15 boards and three steals.

Meanwhile, Pine Crest unfortunately couldn't capitalize on their home-court advantage in their season opener. They fell 44-39 to American Heritage on Wednesday.

Benjamin took a serious blow against Pine Crest in their previous meeting back in November of 2023, falling 64-34. Can the Buccaneers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.