Basketball Game Preview: Athens Drive Jaguars vs. Riverside-Durham Pirates

Athens Drive and Riverside-Durham are an even 5-5 against one another since February of 2018, but not for long. The Athens Drive Jaguars will take on the Riverside-Durham Pirates at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.

Back in December of 2024, Athens Drive ended up a good deal behind Wakefield and lost 57-41. While losing is never fun, the Jaguars can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 298th, while the Wolverines are ranked 129th).

Meanwhile, Riverside-Durham lost to Jordan on the road by a 72-53 margin on Tuesday.

Athens Drive will need focus on slowing down Robert Mcdonald, one of several Riverside-Durham players who made an impact when they last played. He went 7 of 14 on his way to 17 points and five rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Darryn Johnson, who posted 12 points and three steals.

Even though they lost, Riverside-Durham smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 12 offensive boards in three consecutive contests.

Athens Drive has traveled a rocky road recently having lost four of their last five matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-6 record this season. As for Riverside-Durham, their loss dropped their record down to 4-8.

Athens Drive didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Riverside-Durham when the teams last played back in December of 2021, but they still walked away with a 66-61 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Athens Drive since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.