Basketball Game Preview: Strom Thurmond Rebels vs. South Aiken Thoroughbreds

Having just played yesterday, the Strom Thurmond Rebels will head out on the road to face off against the South Aiken Thoroughbreds at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. South Aiken took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Strom Thurmond, who comes in off a win.

On Tuesday, Strom Thurmond needed a bit of extra time to put away Batesburg-Leesville. They walked away with a 46-38 victory over the Panthers.

Meanwhile, South Aiken played a tough match on Tuesday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They took a blow against Gray Collegiate Academy, falling 82-42. While losing is never fun, the Thoroughbreds can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' South Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 160th, while the War Eagles are ranked 30th).

Despite the defeat, South Aiken saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Deon Simpkins went 6 of 14 en route to 14 points and four steals. Simpkins continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Kyson McLeod, who posted eight points and six rebounds.

Strom Thurmond's win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 6-9. As for South Aiken, they have been struggling recently as they've lost six of their last seven contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-10 record this season.

Strom Thurmond came out on top in a nail-biter against South Aiken when the teams last played back in December of 2024, sneaking past 37-34. The rematch might be a little tougher for Strom Thurmond since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.