The Bartow Yellow Jackets waltzed into their game on Saturday with two straight wins but they left with three. They came out on top against Central by a score of 79-66. Having run the score up that high, both teams might be doing some extra defensive drills very soon.
Bartow found their leader in underclassman Ja'kylen Crossley, who went 9 for 13 from beyond the arc en route to 27 points and 2 assists. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Crossley has scored all season. Edward Wiggins was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 14 points and 16 rebounds.
Central's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Christian Maxon, who scored 22 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Christopher Maxon, who scored 14 points along with eight assists.
Bartow has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a massive bump to their 11-8 record this season. As for Central, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 11-8.
Bartow will be playing at home against Victory Christian Academy at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. One thing working in Victory Christian Academy's favor is that they have posted big point totals every time they've taken the court this season. Central will be staying on the road on Tuesday to face off against Centennial at 7:00 p.m. on January 23rd. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Florida (Centennial is ranked 81st, while Central is ranked 98th).
