Basketball Game Preview: Independence Patriots vs. Lancaster Bruins

Two dominant guards in Jaxson Neely and Jordan Watford are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Independence Patriots and the Lancaster Bruins will round out the year against one another at at 1:30 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a three-game winning streak alive.

Last Saturday, Independence was able to grind out a solid win over Butler, taking the game 58-48. Given the Patriots' advantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 15th in North Carolina, while the Bulldogs are ranked 68th in Georgia), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Independence's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Lusemo Macharia led the charge by putting up 18 points and five rebounds. Those 18 points gave Macharia a new career-high. Dylan McFarland was another key player, posting 12 points.

Meanwhile, everything went Lancaster's way against Chambers on Saturday as Lancaster made off with an 80-60 victory. The Bruins have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four contests by 20 points or more this season.

Independence better keep an eye on Watford. He was instrumental in Lancaster's win, going 5 of 10 on his way to 14 points along with eight assists and seven boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Jacarey Ballard, who posted 14 points and five rebounds.

Lancaster was working as a unit and finished the game with 19 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

Independence's win was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 9-1. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.5 points per game. As for Lancaster, their victory bumped their record up to 8-1.