Two dominant players in Rickjerlin Senior feliz and Calvin Russel are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Bartow Yellow Jackets and the Northwestern Bulls will round out the year against one another at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday at. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Bartow unfortunately witnessed the end of their five-game winning streak on Tuesday. They took a 65-59 hit to the loss column at the hands of Berkeley Prep. While losing is never fun, Bartow can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 136th, while Berkeley Prep is ranked 48th).
Despite the loss, Bartow had strong showings from Senior feliz, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Jayson Williams, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 14 rebounds. Those 14 rebounds set a new season-high mark for him. Another player making a difference was Nate Smathers, who scored nine points.
Meanwhile, Northwestern fought the good fight in their overtime match against Coral Springs on Saturday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Colts by a score of 68-65. The loss put an end to Northwestern's undefeated start to the season.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Giovanny Desire, who scored 15 points along with eight rebounds. The matchup was his third in a row with at least ten points. Russel was another key contributor, scoring 19 points along with six rebounds.
Bartow's loss ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 6-4. As for Northwestern, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-1.
Wednesday's match is shaping up to be a scrappy game: Bartow have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 35.7 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Northwestern, though, as they've been averaging only 26.4 rebounds per game. Given Bartow's sizeable advantage in that area, Northwestern will need to find a way to close that gap. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.
