Basketball Game Preview: Batesburg-Leesville Panthers vs. Strom Thurmond Rebels

Batesburg-Leesville is 0-10 against Strom Thurmond since February of 2015 but things could change on Tuesday. The Batesburg-Leesville Panthers will head out to face off against the Strom Thurmond Rebels at 7:00 p.m. Batesburg-Leesville is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 51.1 points per game this season.

Last Wednesday, Batesburg-Leesville was able to grind out a solid victory over Ridge Spring-Monetta, taking the game 57-46. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Panthers.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Batesburg-Leesville to victory, but perhaps none more so than Braylen Davis, who went 8 of 17 on his way to 22 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Naesean Stewart, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Batesburg-Leesville smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 21 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in ten consecutive matches.

Meanwhile, Strom Thurmond was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Thursday as they fell 44-39 to Silver Bluff.

Batesburg-Leesville has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 7-5 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 55.9 points per game. As for Strom Thurmond, they dropped their record down to 5-9 with the defeat, which was their third straight at home.

Batesburg-Leesville came up short against Strom Thurmond in their previous matchup back in January of 2024, falling 49-40. Can Batesburg-Leesville avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.