Two dominant guards in J'London Bivens and Brody Church are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Tampa Prep Terrapins will face off against the Clearwater Central Catholic Marauders at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Tampa Prep is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 66.2 points per game this season.
Tampa Prep is headed into Wednesday's match hungry for a win as their strong season has now been derailed by two straight defeats. They were four points away from ending the streak, but they lost a 68-64 heartbreaker at the hands of Discovery.
Despite their loss, Tampa Prep saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Bivens, who almost dropped a double-double on 16 points and nine boards, was perhaps the best of all. Another player making a difference was Myheir Session, who went 8 of 15 on his way to 18 points and seven rebounds.
Even though they lost, Tampa Prep smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in 18 consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Clearwater Central Catholic entered their tilt with Northside Christian on Monday with nine consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with ten. They came out on top against the Mustangs by a score of 51-38.
Tampa Prep better keep an eye on DJ Gibson. He was instrumental in Clearwater Central Catholic's win, going 6 for 7 en route to 16 points. Those 16 points gave Gibson a new career-high. Church was another key player, going 5 of 8 on his way to 11 points and five boards.
Clearwater Central Catholic pushed their record up to 20-6 with the win, which was their ninth straight at home. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 57.7 points per game. As for Tampa Prep, their defeat dropped their record down to 21-4.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as Tampa Prep and Clearwater Central Catholic are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Tampa Prep hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 66.2 points per game. However, it's not like Clearwater Central Catholic struggles in that department as they've been averaging 55.8 points. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Tampa Prep beat Clearwater Central Catholic 69-58 when the teams last played back in December of 2023. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Clearwater Central Catholic's Gio Sciandra, who posted 19 points and three steals. Now that he won't be playing on Wednesday, will it be easier for Tampa Prep to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
