The Fort Walton Beach Vikings came tearing into Monday's match with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6.3 points) and they left with even more momentum. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 52-49 win over Pine Forest. For Fort Walton Beach, this counts as revenge for the 56-46 loss the Eagles walked away with the last time they faced one another back in December of 2023.
Fort Walton Beach found their leader in underclassman Rodric Starks, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and 14 rebounds. Starks has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last six times he's played. Another player making a difference was XY Childres, who scored nine points.
Fort Walton Beach's victory bumped their record up to 9-15. As for Pine Forest, their defeat dropped their record down to 12-11.
Fort Walton Beach will be playing in front of their home fans against the Gators at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are closely ranked in Florida (Escambia is ranked 372nd, while the Vikings are ranked 373rd). As for Pine Forest, they won't have much time to rest: their next match is against the Aggies at 7:30 p.m. on January 30th. Allowing an average of 50.1 points per game, Tate has struggled on the defensive end, but that doesn't have to be the case in this contest.
