Basketball Game Preview: North Florida Christian Eagles vs. St. John Paul II Panthers

North Florida Christian is 2-8 against St. John Paul II since January of 2020 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The North Florida Christian Eagles will host the St. John Paul II Panthers at 7:00 p.m. North Florida Christian is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 56.6 points per game this season.

North Florida Christian fought the good fight in their overtime match against Harrison on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They took an 85-74 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Hoyas. The Eagles just can't catch a break and have now endured three losses in a row.

Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Jace Riggan, who went 7 of 17 on his way to 24 points in addition to five assists and five boards. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 15.6 points per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Parker Freeland, who went 5 of 9 on his way to 15 points along with five assists and three steals.

Meanwhile, St. John Paul II came up short against South Plantation on Saturday and fell 62-54. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 234th, while the Paladins are ranked 88th).

North Florida Christian's defeat dropped their record down to 3-8. As for St. John Paul II, their loss dropped their record down to 7-4.

North Florida Christian came up short against St. John Paul II in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, falling 53-48. Will North Florida Christian have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.