The Tampa Catholic Crusaders will take on the Windermere Prep Lakers at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. One thing working in Tampa Catholic's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last 18 contests.
Tampa Catholic is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They snuck past Berkeley Prep with a 61-56 victory. Given the Crusaders' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 35th, while the Buccaneers are ranked 100th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Isaiah Campbell-Finch
| 02/07/25 vs Berkeley Prep | 15 |
| 02/05/25 vs Cardinal Mooney | 16 |
| 01/31/25 vs Jesuit | 17 |
Tampa Catholic's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Isaiah Campbell-Finch, who posted 15 points along with five assists and five rebounds. The matchup was Campbell-Finch's third in a row with at least 15 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Willie Piggott, who went 5 for 8 en route to 17 points.
Meanwhile, Windermere Prep was not able to break out of their rough patch on Wednesday as the team picked up their fifth straight loss. They fell 68-61 to Discovery.
Tampa Catholic will need to focus on slowing down Malachi Martis, one of several Windermere Prep players who made an impact when they last played. He went 7 of 12 on his way to 17 points and five boards. Martis has been hot recently, having also posted two or more blocks the last three times he's played. Another player making a difference was Brandon Bass Jr., who had 18 points and seven rebounds.
Campbell-Finch wasn't the only one working in the assist department: Windermere Prep was working as a unit and finished the game with 12 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Discovery only posted six assists.
Tampa Catholic is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 19-9 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 76.8 points over those games. As for Windermere Prep, their defeat dropped their record down to 13-13.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Tampa Catholic has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 28 boards per game. However, it's not like Windermere Prep struggles in that department as they've been averaging 25.6 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Tampa Catholic lost to Windermere Prep on the road by a decisive 82-63 margin in their previous meeting back in January of 2021. Can Tampa Catholic avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
