Crystal River scored the most points they've had this season on Friday, but it wasn't enough. They were just a bucket shy of victory and fell 79-78 to the Lecanto Panthers. The Pirates lost against the Panthers in their previous head to head back in January, too, but the margin this time around was much closer than the 72-40 score last time.

Jake Yost
| 12/05/25 vs Lecanto | 25 |
| 12/02/25 vs Nature Coast Tech | 15 |
| 11/29/25 vs Tavares | 26 |
Loss or not, Crystal River got some senior leadership from Jake Yost and Victor Christmas. Yost posted 25 points in addition to six assists and six boards, while Christmas dropped a double-double with 13 points and 20 rebounds. Yost's big performance that evening made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least 15 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Thomas Turk, who had 12 points.
This is the second loss in a row for Crystal River and nudges their season record down to 2-4. Those defeats can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.5 points over those games. As for Lecanto, their win bumped their record up to 3-1.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming matchups. Crystal River will venture away from home to face off against Dunnellon at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. As for Lecanto, they will head out to challenge Nature Coast Tech at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
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