Basketball Game Preview: Lawson Lightning vs. Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet Royals

The Lawson Lightning will head out to face off against the Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet Royals at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Lawson took a loss when they played away from home on Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They claimed a resounding 71-37 victory over Glencliff. The win continues a trend for the Lightning in their matchups with the Colts: they've now won five in a row.

Chandler Galloway

Points

02/18/25 vs Glencliff	25
02/14/25 @ Hume-Fogg	16
02/11/25 vs Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet	26
02/07/25 vs Glencliff	24
02/04/25 @ Maplewood	21
01/31/25 vs Valor College Prep	15

Lawson found their leader in sophomore Chandler Galloway, who went 9-for-14 en route to 25 points and six boards. Galloway's afternoon made it six games in a row in which he has scored at least 15 points. Another player making a difference was Duran Head, who posted 12 points.

Meanwhile, Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet came tearing into Friday's game with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 16 points), and they left with even more momentum. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Colts 61-21. Given the Royals' advantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee basketball rankings (they are ranked 159th, while the Colts are ranked 373rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet's victory bumped their record up to 13-10. As for Lawson, their win bumped their record up to 17-11.

Lawson came up short against Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet in their previous meeting last Tuesday, falling 71-60. Can Lawson avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.