Preview: Forsyth Panthers vs. Sparta Trojans
Forsyth is on a four-game streak of home wins, while Sparta is on a eight-game streak of away wins (dating back to last season): one of those streaks is about to end. The Forsyth Panthers will be home for the holidays to greet the Sparta Trojans at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. Forsyth knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past six matchups -- so hopefully Sparta likes a good challenge.
Last Tuesday, Forsyth earned a 61-49 victory over Waynesville. Despite the win, that was the fewest points Forsyth has scored all year.
Meanwhile, Sparta beat Carthage 43-33 on Friday. Given Sparta's advantage in MaxPreps' Missouri basketball rankings (they are ranked 34th, while Carthage is ranked 105th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Jacob Lafferty was his usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 24 points and 14 rebounds. That makes it seven consecutive games in which he has scored at least 25% of Sparta's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Walker Loveland, who scored six points.
Forsyth's win bumped their record up to 5-1. As for Sparta, their win bumped their record up to 7-0.
Forsyth didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Sparta in their previous meeting back in January of 2019, but they still walked away with a 54-49 win. Will Forsyth repeat their success, or does Sparta have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
