The Columbia Wildcats will face off against the Purvis Tornadoes at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Columbia has four straight victories, Purvis has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the court.
Columbia will bounce into Friday's game after beating Lawrence County, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. In a tight match that could have gone either way, Columbia made off with a 41-40 win over Lawrence County.
| 01/14/25 @ Lawrence County | 3 |
| 01/10/25 vs Poplarville | 5 |
| 01/07/25 @ Forrest County Agricultural | 4 |
Columbia got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Avyon Lewis out in front who dropped a double-double on 13 points and 17 rebounds. Lewis has been hot recently, having also posted three or more steals the last three times he's played. Another player making a difference was Bryson Foxworth, who posted 14 points in addition to six boards and three steals.
Meanwhile, Purvis came up short against Forrest County Agricultural on Tuesday and fell 55-45. While losing is never fun, the Tornadoes can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Mississippi basketball rankings (they are ranked 221st, while the Aggies are ranked 72nd).
Columbia will have to contain Beni Raanes as he made an impact in Purvis' last game. He went 6 of 12 en route to 15 points along with eight rebounds and three steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Jace Gipson, who earned eight points and eight boards.
Columbia is on a roll lately: they've won 11 of their last 12 contests, which provided a massive bump to their 12-8 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 61.8 points per game. As for Purvis, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-9.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Columbia has been crashing the rebounds this season, having averaged 32.2 boards per game. However, it's not like Purvis struggles in that department as they've been averaging 41.5 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Everything came up roses for Columbia against Purvis in their previous matchup back in December of 2024, as the team secured a 62-34 win. Will Columbia repeat their success, or does Purvis have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
