Basketball Game Preview: Sumter Gamecocks vs. Westside Rams

The Sumter Gamecocks will take on the Westside Rams in a tournament on Friday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Sumter has struggled recently with four defeats in a row, while Westside will arrive with ten straight wins.

Last Saturday, Sumter came up short against Harlan County and fell 62-50. While losing is never fun, the Gamecocks can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 110th in South Carolina, while the Black Bears are ranked 20th in Kentucky).

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Westside). They claimed a resounding 84-55 victory over Boiling Springs. The Rams have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won three games by 22 points or more this season.

Sumter better focus on containing Kmajay Jenkins and Tiy Hollings as the pair were huge in Westside's win. Jenkins went 11 of 18 on his way to 28 points and seven rebounds, while Hollings went 6 of 7 on his way to 14 points in addition to seven assists and six boards. The contest was Jenkins' eighth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jonovan Webb, who went 6 for 9 on his way to 16 points.

Westside smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in nine consecutive matches.

Westside's win was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 10-0. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 67.7 points per game. As for Sumter, their loss dropped their record down to 3-6.

Sumter and Westside were neck-and-neck in their previous matchup back in December of 2023, but Sumter came up empty-handed after a 59-58 defeat. Can Sumter avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.