Englewood is 0-4 against First Coast since January of 2020 but things could change on Tuesday. Having just played yesterday, the Englewood Rams will head out on the road to face off against the First Coast Buccaneers at 7:00 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Englewood is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They came out on top against River City Science Academy by a score of 62-50 on Monday. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest win of the season.
Englewood's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Vincent Witherspoon led the charge by going 7 of 14 en route to 18 points. Another player making a difference was Thomas Mitchell, who posted eight points in addition to six boards and five assists.
Englewood was working as a unit and finished the game with 12 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, First Coast came tearing into Friday's game with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 14 points) and they left with even more momentum. They walked away with a 59-46 victory over the Greyhounds.
First Coast's win came from a few key players Englewood will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Amari Walton, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 14 boards. Walton is crushing it when it comes to rebounds: he's pulled down at least ten every time he's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Christian Williams, who dropped a double-double on ten points and ten rebounds.
First Coast's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 5-4. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.8 points per game. As for Englewood, they moved to 3-5 with that victory, which also ended their three-game losing streak.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Englewood has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 34.1 boards per game. However, it's not like First Coast struggles in that department as they've been averaging 41.1 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Englewood was taken down by First Coast 67-35 in their previous matchup back in December of 2023. That matchup was all but decided by halftime, at which point Englewood was down 33-13.
