Basketball Game Preview: Eastside Rams vs. Eustis Panthers

The Eastside Rams will take on the Eustis Panthers in a tournament on Saturday. Eastside is coming into the contest on a five-game losing streak.

Eastside is headed into the match out to prove that what happened against Lecanto on Saturday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Eastside came up short against Lecanto, falling 68-42. While losing is never fun, the Rams can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 501st, while the Panthers are ranked 99th).

The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was LeMarion Houston, who posted five points and ten rebounds. Another player making a difference was Jai'Vion Williams, who put up four points and eight rebounds.

Meanwhile, Eustis entered their game against Ensworth on Monday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. Eustis came up short against Ensworth, falling 61-41. The contest marked the Panthers' lowest-scoring matchup so far this season.

Eustis' loss ended a 12-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 9-5. As for Eastside, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-9.

Eastside couldn't quite finish off Eustis in their previous meeting back in January of 2022 and fell 42-39. Can Eastside avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.