Basketball Game Preview: Gaffney Indians vs. Eastside Eagles

The Gaffney Indians will take on the Eastside Eagles at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this game.

Gaffney is headed into the contest out to prove that what happened against Fort Mill on Wednesday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Gaffney came up short against Fort Mill, falling 67-46. While losing is never fun, the Indians can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' South Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 135th, while the Yellow Jackets are ranked 13th).

Meanwhile, Eastside was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their sixth straight defeat. They fell just short of Greenville by a score of 55-52.

Gaffney will need focus on slowing down Brandon Ray, one of several Eastside players who made an impact when they last played. He went 7 for 11 on his way to 19 points. Ray is trending in the right direction considering he's improved his point production for three straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Thomas Rouse, who posted 11 points and five rebounds.

Gaffney's loss dropped their record down to 1-5. As for Eastside, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-6.

Gaffney was dealt a bruising 86-59 loss at the hands of Eastside in their previous matchup back in December of 2022. Thankfully for Gaffney, Justin Ray (who went 7 of 12 on his way to 23 points in addition to five assists and five boards) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.