Basketball Game Preview: South View Tigers vs. Purnell Swett Rams

South View and Purnell Swett are an even 3-3 against one another since February of 2022, but not for long. The South View Tigers will host the Purnell Swett Rams at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. One thing working in South View's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last ten matches.

South View will bounce into Thursday's contest after beating Lumberton, who they had gone 0-9 against in their nine prior meetings. South View was the clear victor by a 69-47 margin over Lumberton on Tuesday. The Tigers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four games by 22 points or more this season.

South View got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Antrell Gilmore out in front who went 7 of 16 on his way to 20 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Darin Word, who went 6 for 9 on his way to 14 points.

South View smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive rebounds in three consecutive matchups.

Meanwhile, Purnell Swett was not able to break out of their rough patch on Wednesday as the team picked up their fifth straight defeat. They fell 63-50 to Pine Forest. While losing is never fun, the Rams can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 539th, while the Trojans are ranked 258th).

South View pushed their record up to 6-6 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 21.8 points. As for Purnell Swett, their loss dropped their record down to 2-9.

South View took their win against Purnell Swett in their previous meeting back in February of 2024 by a conclusive 71-49. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Purnell Swett's Collin Sampson, who went 10 of 20 on his way to 24 points. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will South View still be able to contain Sampson? There's only one way to find out.