Fort Myers is on a three-game streak of home wins, while Palmetto Ridge is on a six-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The two teams will face off at 7:30 p.m. on January 23rd without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Hopefully Fort Myers focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up seven on Thursday.
Last Thursday, Fort Myers didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Dunbar, but they still walked away with a 49-43 victory. Given Fort Myers' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 192nd, while Dunbar is ranked 653rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Fort Myers had a senior duo take command as Marquielle Tory scored 17 points along with eight rebounds and two steals and Therry Theresias scored 11 points along with nine rebounds. Tory is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last 14 games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Alex Thelusma, who scored six points along with two steals.
Meanwhile, Palmetto Ridge came up short against Sarasota on Saturday and fell 65-54.
Defeat or not, Palmetto Ridge got some senior leadership from Calven Charles and Jaden Brightmon. Charles dropped a double-double on 19 points and ten rebounds, while Brightmon. scored 15 points. Charles has been hot recently, having posted two or more blocks the last 14 times he's played. Another player making a difference was Jaydon Soto, who scored four points along with six assists.
Fort Myers has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-7 record this season. As for Palmetto Ridge, their loss dropped their record down to 16-3.
Tuesday's match is shaping up to be a scrappy game: Fort Myers have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 29.1 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Palmetto Ridge struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 24.8 rebounds per game. Given Fort Myers' sizeable advantage in that area, Palmetto Ridge will need to find a way to close that gap.
Fort Myers strolled past Palmetto Ridge in their previous meeting back in February of 2022 by a score of 62-47. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Palmetto Ridge's Iago Stanback, who scored 19 points. Now that he won't be playing on Tuesday, will it be that much easier for Fort Myers to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
