The Eustis Panthers will take on The Villages Charter Buffalo at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Eustis comes in on six and The Villages Charter on four.
Eustis had already proven themselves in the regular season, and didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They walked away with a 72-61 victory over South Sumter on Thursday. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Timothy Key and Jayveon Dale were among the main playmakers for Eustis as the former scored 16 points and the latter scored 21 points. Cornelius Hines was another key contributor, scoring ten points.
Meanwhile, The Villages Charter put the finishing touches on their tenth blowout victory of the season on Thursday. They claimed a resounding 89-62 win over Umatilla on the road. The Villages Charter's offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
The Villages Charter's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Jared Thompson, who scored 25 points along with six rebounds and three steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Thompson has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Ben Koubek, who scored 19 points along with five rebounds.
Eustis is on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten matches, which provided a nice bump to their 21-4 record this season. The Villages Charter's record now sits at 16-11.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the two teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Eustis hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 63.8 points per game. However, it's not like The Villages Charter struggles in that department as they've been averaging 66.5 points per game. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Eustis ended up a good deal behind The Villages Charter when the teams last played back in February of 2023, losing 69-50. Can Eustis avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
