Basketball Game Preview: Batesburg-Leesville Panthers vs. American Leadership Academy Patriots

The Batesburg-Leesville Panthers will take on the American Leadership Academy Patriots at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Batesburg-Leesville will be strutting in after a win while American Leadership Academy will be coming in after a loss.

Batesburg-Leesville is headed into the matchup having just posted their biggest victory since January 5, 2024 on Tuesday. They put the hurt on Ninety Six with a sharp 66-46 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Panthers.

Meanwhile, American Leadership Academy was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their fourth straight defeat. They fell 46-38 to Strom Thurmond.

Batesburg-Leesville will have to keep a close watch on Payton Miles and Bryce Newton, a pair of players who had a big impact on American Leadership Academy's prior game. Miles dropped a double-double on 15 points and 12 boards, while Newton posted 13 points and eight rebounds. That's the most rebounds Newton has posted since back in December of 2024.

Batesburg-Leesville has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-7 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.7 points per game. As for American Leadership Academy, their loss dropped their record down to 5-16.

Batesburg-Leesville was able to grind out a solid victory over American Leadership Academy in their previous meeting two weeks ago, winning 61-53. Will Batesburg-Leesville repeat their success, or does American Leadership Academy have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.