Basketball Game Preview: Westside Rams vs. Sumter Gamecocks

The Westside Rams and the Sumter Gamecocks will round out the year against one another at at 1:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Westside has ten straight victories, Sumter has four straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

Westside is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They breezed by Boiling Springs to the tune of 84-55 on Friday. The Rams have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won three contests by 22 points or more this season.

Westside relied on the efforts of Kmajay Jenkins, who went 11 of 18 on his way to 28 points and seven rebounds, and Tiy Hollings, who went 6 of 7 on his way to 14 points in addition to seven assists and six boards. The game 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 matchups.

Meanwhile, Sumter came up short against Harlan County on Saturday 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).

Westside's win was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 10-0. The wins 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.

Westside barely slipped by Sumter in their previous meeting back in December of 2023, winning 59-58. Will Westside repeat their success, or does Sumter have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.