Basketball Game Preview: North Port Bobcats vs. Port Charlotte Pirates

The North Port Bobcats will head out to challenge the Port Charlotte Pirates at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.

North Port will head into Wednesday's contest out to bounce back: they won a close one the last time they played, but unfortunately they suffered a serious change of fortune on Wednesday. They lost 56-32 to Community School of Naples. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest defeat the Bobcats have suffered since January 8th.

Meanwhile, Port Charlotte entered their tilt with Booker on Tuesday with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They secured a 60-56 W over the Tornadoes. Given the Pirates' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 98th, while the Tornadoes are ranked 323rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

North Port has also been struggling recently as they've lost nine of their last 11 matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-17 record this season. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 51.0 points per game. As for Port Charlotte, they pushed their record up to 19-5 with the victory, which was their sixth straight at home.

North Port was taken down by Port Charlotte 72-20 when the teams last played back in December of 2024. Can North Port avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.