Dunnellon is 0-8 against The Villages Charter since December of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Dunnellon Tigers' road trip will continue as they head out to face The Villages Charter Buffalo at 7:30 p.m. on February 9th. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the pair posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
With a playoff game on the line, Dunnellon rose to the challenge on Wednesday. They managed a 68-64 victory over the Panthers. Given Dunnellon's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 93rd, while Eustis is ranked 224th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Dunnellon to victory, but perhaps none more so than Tatiana Matthews, who scored 23 points along with eight rebounds and six assists. That makes it four consecutive games in which Matthews has scored at least a third of Dunnellon's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Princess Hardin, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Meanwhile, The Villages Charter entered their tilt with Umatilla with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. The Villages Charter sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 57-54 victory over Umatilla on Wednesday.
Dunnellon's win bumped their record up to 21-3. As for The Villages Charter, their victory bumped their record up to 13-11.
Dunnellon ended up a good deal behind The Villages Charter in their previous matchup back in January of 2020, losing 42-27. Can Dunnellon avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
