Basketball Game Preview: Steinbrenner Warriors vs. Plant Panthers

Steinbrenner is 2-8 against Plant since February of 2020 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Steinbrenner Warriors will venture away from home to challenge the Plant Panthers at 8:00 p.m. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Last Wednesday, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Steinbrenner beat Hillsborough 60-55.

Douglas Jordan

Steals

01/08/25 vs Hillsborough	7
01/07/25 vs Leto	3
01/04/25 @ Clearwater Central Catholic	2
01/03/25 vs Tarpon Springs	2
12/23/24 vs Woodward	2

Steinbrenner's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Douglas Jordan led the charge by putting up eight points in addition to seven steals and six boards. Jordan is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last five games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Riley Aulls, who posted 11 points and five assists.

Meanwhile, Plant came tearing into Wednesday's game with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 16.3 points) and they left with even more momentum. They came out on top against the Stingrays by a score of 52-45. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 100th, while the Stingrays are ranked 250th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Plant pushed their record up to 13-3 with the victory, which was their sixth straight on the road. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.5 points per game. As for Steinbrenner, their record now sits at 5-12.

Steinbrenner took a serious blow against Plant in their previous matchup back in January of 2024, falling 58-29. Can Steinbrenner avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.