Land O' Lakes is 0-3 against East Lake since January of 2016 but things could change on Thursday. The Land O' Lakes Gators will take on the East Lake Eagles in a holiday battle at at 8:00 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.
On Tuesday, Land O' Lakes needed a bit of extra time to put away Fivay. They secured a 71-67 W over the Falcons.
| 12/17/24 vs Fivay | 19 |
| 12/13/24 vs Cypress Creek | 10 |
| 12/04/24 vs River Ridge | 10 |
| 12/10/24 vs Gulf | 8 |
| 12/06/24 vs Carrollwood Day | 4 |
Land O' Lakes found their leader in freshman Sequel Hodge, who went 6 of 11 on his way to 19 points and three steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Hodge has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Chartric Darby, who almost dropped a double-double on 15 points and nine rebounds.
Land O' Lakes smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 12 offensive rebounds in three consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, East Lake put another one in the bag on Tuesday to keep their perfect season alive. Everything went their way against Sickles as East Lake made off with an 81-61 victory. The Eagles have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five contests by 20 points or more this season.
Land O' Lakes better keep an eye on Jordan Bryant. He was instrumental in East Lake's win, dropping a double-double on 31 points and 13 rebounds. Bryant is also on a roll when it comes to blocks, as he's now posted two or more in the last seven games he's played. Another player making a difference was Jeremiah Cooper, who posted 16 points in addition to six assists and five steals.
The win got Land O' Lakes back to even at 5-5. As for East Lake, their victory was their 17th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 8-0.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Land O' Lakes has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 33.5 boards per game. However, it's not like East Lake struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32.4 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Land O' Lakes lost to East Lake on the road by a decisive 62-44 margin when the teams last played back in January. Can Land O' Lakes avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
