Preview: Seneca Bobcats vs. Pendleton Bulldogs
Seneca is 9-1 against Pendleton since February of 2019, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Seneca Bobcats will head out on the road to square off against the Pendleton Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. One thing working in Seneca's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last six games.
Seneca stacked an eighth blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Tuesday. Everything went their way against Crescent as Seneca made off with a 69-49 victory. Given Seneca's advantage in MaxPreps' South Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 62nd, while Crescent is ranked 283rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Seneca had a senior duo take command as Jalen Craig scored 19 points along with eight rebounds and Cam O'kelley scored 22 points along with eight rebounds. O'kelley is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 15 or more in the last four games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Jermaine Miller, who scored five points along with 14 rebounds and five assists.
Meanwhile, a well-balanced attack led Pendleton over West-Oak in every quarter on their way to victory on Tuesday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Pendleton blew West-Oak out of the water with a 63-35 final score. For those curious, yes, that was the biggest victory Pendleton has managed all season.
Pendleton's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Garon Blalock, who dropped a double-double on ten points and 11 rebounds, and Luke Gray, who scored 16 points along with seven rebounds. Another player making a difference was Kory Jones, who scored 12 points along with seven rebounds and two steals.
Seneca pushed their record up to 17-4 with that victory, which was their ninth straight at home. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 68.3 points per game. As for Pendleton, they have been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight games, which provided a massive bump to their 12-10 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Seneca have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 35.7 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Pendleton struggles in that department as they've been averaging 25.7 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything came up roses for Seneca against Pendleton in their previous matchup on January 10th as the team secured a 73-36 win. With Seneca ahead 31-10 at the half, the contest was all but over already.
