Bartow extended their winning streak to four on Wednesday, bumping them up to 14-1. They came out on top in a nail-biter against The Villages Charter Buffalo, sneaking past 72-70. The victory was all the more spectacular given the Yellow Jackets' disadvantage in MaxPreps' national basketball rankings (they are ranked 64th, while the Buffalo are ranked 14th).

Ja'Kylen Crossley
| 12/31/25 @ The Villages Charter | 18 |
| 12/30/25 vs St. Mary's | 17 |
| 12/29/25 vs De La Salle | 30 |
| 12/23/25 vs Campbell | 16 |
| 12/22/25 vs Westlake | 20 |
Bartow's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Ja'Kylen Crossley, who went 6-for-10 on his way to 18 points. The contest was Crossley's fifth in a row with at least 16 points. James Ratteree was another key player, almost dropping a double-double with 13 points and nine assists.
Bartow was working as a unit and finished the game with 18 assists. They racked up eight more assists than The Villages Charter's also-impressive total of ten.
As for The Villages Charter, their loss ended an eight-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 10-4. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game on Tuesday (67), they still had to take the loss.
The Villages Charter lost despite a true team effort on offense. The best among them was Herly Brutus, who almost dropped a double-double with 14 points and nine boards. He is also on a roll when it comes to field goal percentage, as he's posted one of at least 63% in the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Camryn Lee, who shot 75% from the field to rack up 14 points.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Bartow will challenge Lakeland at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. As for The Villages Charter, they will square off against Raines at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. The Buffalo's defense better be ready for this one: the Vikings have averaged an impressive 54.4 points per game this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps