Fort Walton Beach is 0-6 against Pensacola since January of 2016 but things could change on Thursday. The Fort Walton Beach Vikings will welcome the Pensacola Tigers at 7:00 p.m. Fort Walton Beach is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 57.1 points per game this season.
Having struggled with three losses in a row, Fort Walton Beach turned things around against Navarre on Tuesday. They came out on top against the Raiders by a score of 59-50. Given the Vikings' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 291st, while the Raiders are ranked 584th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Khamani Leonard had a dynamite game for Fort Walton Beach, as he made all 6 shots he took for 16 points and six rebounds. Another player making a difference was Xy Childres, who posted 13 points.
Meanwhile, Pensacola was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They had to suffer through a 70-29 loss at the hands of Tate. The Tigers were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 46-10.
Fort Walton Beach will need focus on slowing down Khylen Eccles, one of several Pensacola players who made an impact when they last played. He went 5 of 10 on his way to 12 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Rupert Sproles, who had eight points.
Fort Walton Beach's victory bumped their record up to 7-8. As for Pensacola, their loss dropped their record down to 4-9.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Fort Walton Beach has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 27.9 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Pensacola struggles in that department as they've been averaging 21.9 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Fort Walton Beach came up short against Pensacola in their previous meeting back in February of 2022, falling 69-59. Thankfully for Fort Walton Beach, Caleb Young (who went 10 of 13 on his way to 24 points in addition to five boards and four steals) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
