Basketball Game Preview: Houston County Bears vs. Coffee Trojans

The Houston County Bears will venture away from home to face off against the Coffee Trojans at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Houston County knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past five contests -- so hopefully Coffee likes a good challenge.

Houston County took a loss when they played away from home last Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Saturday. They secured a 60-56 W over Thomas County Central. Given the Bears' advantage in MaxPreps' Georgia basketball rankings (they are ranked 35th, while the Yellow Jackets are ranked 143rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Houston County's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Malik Gillespie, who posted 15 points, and Braylin Mills, who went 5 for 7 on his way to 10 points and seven boards. The match was Gillespie's fourth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Kam Plummer, who had nine points and five rebounds.

Meanwhile, Coffee was not able to break out of their rough patch on Wednesday as the team picked up their fourth straight defeat. They took a 67-48 bruising from Fitzgerald.

Houston County pushed their record up to 19-5 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.0 points per game. As for Coffee, their loss dropped their record down to 4-19.

Everything came up roses for Houston County against Coffee in their previous matchup back in January, as the team secured a 75-42 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Houston County since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.