Two dominant guards in Nathan Kirk and Isaiah Campbell-Finch are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. Having just played yesterday, the Mainland Buccaneers will jump right back in to play the Tampa Catholic Crusaders at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the pair posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Mainland waltzed into their match Thursday with three straight wins but they left with four. They pulled ahead with a 60-59 photo finish over Mount Vernon.
Mainland's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Narayan Thomas, who scored 17 points along with seven rebounds, and Kirk, who scored 20 points along with six rebounds. The contest was Kirk's third in a row with at least ten points. Elijah Clark was another key contributor, scoring seven points.
Meanwhile, Tampa Catholic ended up a good deal behind The First Academy on Thursday and lost 83-66. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as Tampa Catholic came into the game with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 51st, while The First Academy is ranked 242nd).
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the most dominant came from Colby Cannizzaro, who scored 20 points. The contest was his fourth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Kenneth Morgan, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Mainland's win bumped their record up to 7-1. As for Tampa Catholic, their loss dropped their record down to 4-4.
This contest is shaping up to be a blowout: Mainland hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having only averaged 59.4 points per game. It's a different story for Tampa Catholic, though, as they've been averaging only 73.5 points per game. The only thing between Mainland and another offensive beatdown is Tampa Catholic. Will they be able to keep them contained? Come back here after the game to get analysis of the match and other basketball content.
