Basketball Game Preview: South Cougars vs. Derby Panthers

South is 1-9 against Derby since February of 2020 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. A feisty cat fight will be fought when the South Cougars duke it out with the Derby Panthers at 7:30 p.m.

South is headed into the contest having just suffered their closest loss since January 19th last Friday. They fell just short of Valley Center by a score of 51-48. While the Cougars didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Hornets 19-7 in the first quarter.

The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Sawyer Walker, who posted 12 points and five rebounds. That's the most boards he has posted since back in December of 2023. The team also got some help courtesy of Kobie Henley, who had ten points and eight rebounds.

Meanwhile, Derby put another one in the bag last Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They walked away with a 66-57 win over Maize South.

South now has a losing record at 2-3. As for Derby, they pushed their record up to 4-0 with the victory, which was their third straight at home.

South might still be hurting after the 72-47 defeat they got from Derby when the teams last played back in February. Thankfully for South, Kaden Franklin (who dropped a double-double on 23 points and 16 rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.