The Everglades Gators will take on the Stranahan Mighty Dragons at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Everglades comes in on four and Stranahan on three.
If Everglades beats Stranahan with 69 points on Thursday, it's going to be the team's new lucky number: they've won their past two contests with that exact score. Everglades sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 69-67 win over Martin County on Monday. The victory was all the more spectacular given the Gators' disadvantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 185th in Florida, while the Cardinals are ranked 25th in Kentucky).
| 12/30/24 vs Martin County | 4 |
| 12/28/24 vs Sunlake | 1 |
| 12/27/24 vs St. Pius X | 1 |
| 12/18/24 vs Nova | 4 |
| 12/16/24 @ Coral Glades | 3 |
Everglades can attribute much of their success to Lance Bailey, Jr, who went 7 for 11 on his way to 14 points in addition to five rebounds and four steals, and Chris Payoutte, who went 6 of 13 en route to 17 points and eight rebounds. With that strong performance, Bailey, Jr is now averaging an impressive 2.1 steals per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Nathan Rey, who went 5 of 12 on his way to 12 points.
Everglades smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in six consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Stranahan got the win against Lakeland on Friday by a conclusive 71-48. The Mighty Dragons have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six games by 21 points or more this season.
Stranahan pushed their record up to 13-5 with the win, which was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.5 points per game. As for Everglades, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven contests, which provided a massive bump to their 9-5 record this season.
Everglades was able to grind out a solid victory over Stranahan in their previous meeting back in November of 2016, winning 67-55. Will Everglades repeat their success, or does Stranahan have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
