Basketball Game Preview: Whitewater Wildcats vs. Spalding Jaguars

A feisty cat fight will be fought when the Whitewater Wildcats challenge the Spalding Jaguars at 7:30 p.m. on Friday... Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Two weeks ago, Whitewater didn't have too much trouble with Mary Persons as they won 64-45. Given the Wildcats' advantage in MaxPreps' Georgia basketball rankings (they are ranked 175th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 437th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Seyi Daramola was his usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 23 points and 17 rebounds. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Case Roberts, who posted eight points in addition to six assists and six steals.

Whitewater smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 20 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 12 offensive boards in 13 consecutive matches.

Meanwhile, Spalding posted their biggest win since November 26th on Monday. They ended the year with a bang, routing Rutland 65-44. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Jaguars.

Spalding is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games, which provided a massive bump to their 5-9 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 64.0 points per game. As for Whitewater, their victory bumped their record up to 9-4.

Whitewater was able to grind out a solid win over Spalding in their previous meeting back in February, winning 73-61. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Spalding's Cedric Evans, who went 7 of 15 on his way to 19 points along with eight boards and four steals. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for Whitewater to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.