Having just played yesterday, the Tampa Catholic Crusaders will head out on the road to face off against the St. Petersburg Green Devils at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. One thing working in Tampa Catholic's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last six matches.
Tampa Catholic will head into Friday's contest hoping to keep the good times rolling: they had to skate by with only a three-point margin when they last took the court, which might have inspired the 21-point drubbing they dealt Jesuit on Friday. Tampa Catholic put the hurt on Jesuit with a sharp 79-58 victory.
| 01/10/25 @ Jesuit | 20 |
| 11/26/24 vs The Villages Charter | 19 |
| 12/22/23 vs Mainland | 18 |
| 12/06/24 @ Calvary Christian | 17 |
| 11/30/24 vs Westside | 16 |
Tampa Catholic's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but K.J. Morgan led the charge by almost dropping a double-double on 20 points and nine rebounds. The dominant performance gave Morgan a new career-high in points. Another player making a difference was Isaiah Campbell-Finch, who went 7 of 15 on his way to 18 points in addition to six boards and five assists.
Meanwhile, St. Petersburg humbled Osceola with a 71-41 victory. The Green Devils have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six games by 30 points or more this season.
St. Petersburg found their leader in freshman Nijaun Harris, who dropped a double-double on 29 points and 12 rebounds. The match was Harris' 16th in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Emir Gainer, who posted 14 points.
St. Petersburg smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in nine consecutive contests.
St. Petersburg pushed their record up to 9-7 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 33.5 points. As for Tampa Catholic, their victory bumped their record up to 9-7.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Tampa Catholic has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 28.7 rebounds per game. However, it's not like St. Petersburg struggles in that department as they've been averaging 35.5 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Everything came up roses for Tampa Catholic against St. Petersburg in their previous meeting back in January of 2023, as the squad secured a 90-52 win. In that game, Tampa Catholic amassed a halftime lead of 63-32, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Saturday.
