After both having extra time off, the St. Petersburg Green Devils and the Blanche Ely Tigers will shake off the cobwebs and hit the court one another at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as St. Petersburg comes in on three and Blanche Ely on five.
St. Petersburg is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup last Thursday. They came out on top against Countryside by a score of 60-52.
Nijaun Harris
| 02/20/25 @ Countryside | 5 |
| 12/05/24 vs Boca Ciega | 4 |
| 01/22/25 @ Northeast | 3 |
| 01/21/25 vs Lakewood | 3 |
| 01/11/25 vs Tampa Catholic | 3 |
St. Petersburg can attribute much of their success to Nijaun Harris, who dropped a double-double with 22 points and ten boards, and Julian Macon, who posted ten points in addition to eight rebounds and three blocks. The dominant performance also gave Harris a new career-high in steals (five). Another player making a difference was Nicholas Wilson, who earned nine points.
St. Petersburg smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 22 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in ten consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Blanche Ely faced Pembroke Pines Charter in a battle between two of the state's top teams last Thursday. Blanche Ely sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 59-56 win over Pembroke Pines Charter. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Tigers have posted since January 18th.
St. Petersburg better keep an eye on KALEB CORBITT. He was instrumental in Blanche Ely's win, dropping a double-double with 19 points and 13 boards. Justin Snell was another key player, putting up nine points along with seven assists and three steals.
St. Petersburg's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 18-11. As for Blanche Ely, their record now sits at 18-9.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the two teams are some of the highest-scoring teams around. St. Petersburg hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 63.4 points per game. However, it's not like Blanche Ely struggles in that department as they've been averaging 60.3 points. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can put up more.
St. Petersburg lost to Blanche Ely on the road by a decisive 73-58 margin in their previous meeting back in March of 2018. Can St. Petersburg avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
