The Fort Walton Beach Vikings's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Friday after their fourth straight loss. They were just a bucket shy of victory and fell 44-43 to Niceville. Fort Walton Beach was given a dose of their own medicine in this game as Niceville apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in December of 2023.
Fort Walton Beach lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Justin Lee, who scored nine points. Another player making a difference was KJ Robertson, who scored eight points.
Leading Niceville to victory were Jackson Hamman and Jackson Kowal. Hamman scored nine points along with eight rebounds, while Kowal scored ten points along with two steals. Anwar Conley was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with 11 rebounds.
Fort Walton Beach has not been sharp recently, as they've lost eight of their last nine matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-14 record this season. As for Niceville, the victory makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 9-11.
Fort Walton Beach won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Rutherford at 5:30 p.m. on January 20th. The timing is sure in Rutherford's favor as the team sits on five straight wins at home while Fort Walton Beach has been banged up by three consecutive losses on the road. Niceville will take on Navarre at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. One thing working in Navarre's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last 11 contests.
