Basketball Game Preview: Atlantic Eagles vs. Dillard Panthers

The Atlantic Eagles will head out on the road to face off against the Dillard Panthers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Atlantic is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 72.4 points per game this season.

Atlantic is headed into the matchup having just suffered their biggest defeat since December 1, 2023 on Friday. They lost 68-45 to Glades Central. The game marked the Eagles' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.

The losing side was boosted by James Tillman, who posted 13 points and four steals. He has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last three times he's played. Another player making a difference was Jabari Henry, who put up ten points.

Meanwhile, Dillard came up short against Miramar on Thursday and fell 52-42. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 458th, while the Patriots are ranked 176th).

This is the second loss in a row for Dillard and nudges their season record down to 1-6. As for Atlantic, their loss ended a five-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 4-4.

Atlantic barely slipped by Dillard when the teams last played back in December of 2017, winning 61-60. Will Atlantic repeat their success, or does Dillard have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.