The Dunnellon Tigers will head out on the road to challenge the Crystal River Pirates at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Even though West Port scored an imposing 58 points on Thursday, Dunnellon still came out on top. Dunnellon came out on top in a nail-biter against West Port and snuck past 60-58. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win Dunnellon has posted yet this season.
Dunnellon relied on the efforts of Tre'quori Rollerson, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and ten rebounds, and Bode Burns, who scored 24 points along with six rebounds and three steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Burns has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of A'zyron Johnson, who scored seven points.
Meanwhile, Crystal River beat Citrus 60-50 on Tuesday. The victory was just what Crystal River needed coming off of a 65-43 defeat in their prior contest.
Crystal River got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Riley Helmdach out in front who scored 13 points along with five assists. Another player making a difference was Ej Jenkins, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and ten rebounds.
Dunnellon now has a winning record of 9-8. As for Crystal River, their win bumped their record up to 7-9.
Monday's matchup is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Dunnellon have been dynamite from deep this season, having nailed 40.3% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Crystal River struggles in that department as they've made 40.2% of their threes per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything went Dunnellon's way against Crystal River in their previous meeting back in February of 2023 as Dunnellon made off with a 75-50 victory. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Crystal River's Ethan Nicoleau, who scored 16 points along with five steals. Now that he won't be playing on Monday, will it be that much easier for Dunnellon to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
