Basketball Game Preview: New Manchester Jaguar vs. East Paulding Raiders

New Manchester is 9-1 against East Paulding since December of 2014 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The New Manchester Jaguar will square off against the East Paulding Raiders at 7:30 p.m. New Manchester knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past 16 matchups -- so hopefully East Paulding likes a good challenge.

New Manchester took a loss when they played away from home last Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They walked away with a 66-59 win over Kennesaw Mountain. Given the Jaguar's advantage in MaxPreps' Georgia basketball rankings (they are ranked 60th, while the Mustangs are ranked 233rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

New Manchester's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Micah Hines, who went 7 of 17 on his way to 20 points along with eight boards and four steals, and Delancy Alexander, who went 6 for 10 en route to 20 points and eight rebounds. Hines' evening made it 16 games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Adrian Guilford, who posted seven points and six boards.

New Manchester smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in nine consecutive games.

Meanwhile, East Paulding was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They received a blow as they fell 67-50 to Villa Rica.

New Manchester pushed their record up to 13-4 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 71.3 points per game. As for East Paulding, their loss dropped their record down to 5-15.

Everything went New Manchester's way against East Paulding in their previous matchup back in December of 2024, as New Manchester made off with a 79-54 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for New Manchester since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.