Yulee hasn't had much luck against First Coast recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Yulee Hornets will venture away from home to face off against the First Coast Buccaneers at 7:30 p.m. One thing working in Yulee's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last five matches.
Last Monday, Yulee made easy work of Ridgeview and carried off a 69-44 victory. Given the Hornets' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 164th, while the Panthers are ranked 516th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
| 12/09/24 vs Ridgeview | 4 |
| 12/06/24 vs West Nassau | 4 |
| 12/03/24 @ Charlton County | 4 |
Yulee's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Shamar Gibbs, who went 7 for 12 on his way to 17 points and four steals, and Chase Cannone, who went 5 of 11 on his way to 10 points in addition to eight steals and seven assists. Gibbs is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed four or more in the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Carter Kirchner, who went 5 of 8 on his way to 13 points.
Meanwhile, First Coast waltzed into their contest on Monday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They walked away with a 74-63 win over the Storm.
Yulee better keep an eye on Amari Walton. He was instrumental in First Coast's win, dropping a triple-double on 20 points, 14 rebounds, and ten blocks. The dominant performance gave Walton a new career-high in blocks. The team also got some help courtesy of Nehemiah Echevarria, who posted 15 points and four steals.
Yulee's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 5-1. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 67.7 points per game. As for First Coast, their win bumped their record up to 3-4.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Yulee has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 29.7 boards per game. However, it's not like First Coast struggles in that department as they've been averaging 39.4 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Yulee was dealt a bruising 68-37 defeat at the hands of First Coast in their previous meeting back in January. Can Yulee avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
