Basketball Game Preview: Ninety Six Wildcats vs. Pelion Panthers

A feisty cat fight will be fought when the Ninety Six Wildcats challenge the Pelion Panthers at 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday... Ninety Six is coming into the matchup on a four-game losing streak.

Ninety Six is headed into the contest having just suffered their closest defeat since December 15, 2023 last Friday. They fell just short of Crescent by a score of 30-27. The game marked the Wildcats' lowest-scoring match so far this season.

Despite the loss, Ninety Six got top-tier performance from Janiyah Squire, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 13 rebounds. That was a full 74.1% of Ninety Six's points, marking the sixth time in a row she's posted more than a third of the team's points.

Even though they lost, Ninety Six smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in six consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Pelion hadn't done well against Columbia recently (they were 0-6 in their previous six matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Monday. Pelion rang in the new year with a 40-27 victory over Columbia.

Pelion has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five games, which provided a nice bump to their 6-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 29.2 points per game. As for Ninety Six, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-4.