Basketball Game Preview: Lithia Springs Lions vs. Alexander Cougars

Lithia Springs and Alexander are an even 5-5 against one another since December of 2014, but not for long. A feisty cat fight is on tap when the Lithia Springs Lions take on the Alexander Cougars at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.

On Friday, Lithia Springs didn't have too much trouble with East Paulding as they won 80-62. Given the Lions' advantage in MaxPreps' Georgia basketball rankings (they are ranked 180th, while the Raiders are ranked 364th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Alexander had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 18 points) and they went ahead and made it five on Friday. They took their game with ease, bagging an 82-53 victory over the Mustangs. 82 seems to be a good number for the Cougars as the team scooped up a win with the same number of points in their previous game.

Alexander's win came from a few key players Lithia Springs will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Gregory Dunson, who went 8 of 18 en route to 22 points along with five assists and five rebounds. His evening made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Marquise Leslie, who went 6 for 8 on his way to 16 points and six boards.

Alexander is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 16-7 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 67.6 points per game. As for Lithia Springs, the victory got them back to even at 12-12.

Lithia Springs beat Alexander 57-46 in their previous meeting back in January. The rematch might be a little tougher for Lithia Springs since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.