Palatka is 10-0 against Matanzas since January of 2018, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Monday. The Palatka Panthers will venture away from home to take on the Matanzas Pirates at 7:30 p.m. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this contest.
On Friday, Palatka came up short against Orange Park and fell 57-45. The Panthers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Despite their defeat, Palatka saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Bradley Holcy, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and 11 rebounds, was perhaps the best of all. The team also got some help courtesy of Justin Fells, who earned eight points along with nine rebounds.
Meanwhile, Matanzas was not able to break out of their rough patch on Wednesday as the team picked up their fourth straight loss. They fell just short of KIPP Bold City by a score of 61-59. Even though they lost, the Pirates' still made a splash on offense and bumped their average scoring up to 50.7 points per game (they're now ranked -1th in scoring overall).
Despite the defeat, Matanzas got top-tier performance from La'Darien Baker, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 15 rebounds. Baker is crushing it when it comes to rebounds: he's pulled down at least eight every time he's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Jezrahiah McCoy, who went 5 for 10 en route to 12 points plus five rebounds and three steals.
Palatka now has a losing record at 1-2. As for Matanzas, their loss dropped their record down to 1-5.
Palatka was able to grind out a solid win over Matanzas when the teams last played back in December of 2023, winning 79-68. The rematch might be a little tougher for Palatka since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
