The Booker Tornadoes and the Manatee Hurricanes will face off at 7:30 p.m. on December 5th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this match.
Booker pushed their score all the way to 67 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They took a 75-67 hit to the loss column at the hands of Bradenton Christian. Booker has struggled against Bradenton Christian recently, as their match on Friday was their third consecutive lost matchup.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the most dominant came from Jovan Palavra, who scored 13 points. The matchup was his third in a row with at least ten points. Jamareon Ruffin was another key contributor, scoring 12 points.
Meanwhile, Manatee pushed their score all the way to 59 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell just short of Parrish Community by a score of 61-59. Manatee has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
The last time Booker won on the road was back last Thursday. Having now lost three straight away matchups, they've bumped their record down to 0-3. That rough patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.7 points per game. As for Manatee, they now have a losing record at 1-2.
Booker and Manatee were neck-and-neck in their previous meeting back in December of 2022, but Booker came up empty-handed after a 54-53 loss. Can Booker avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
