Basketball Game Preview: The Rock Lions vs. DME Academy Blue -

The Rock Lions will face off against the DME Academy Blue - at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The Rock knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past eight games -- so hopefully DME Academy Blue likes a good challenge.

Last Saturday, The Rock was just a bucket shy of victory and fell 57-56 to Auburndale. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game on Monday (55), the Lions still had to take the loss.

Meanwhile, DME Academy Blue was not able to break out of their rough patch back in December of 2024 as the team picked up their fourth straight defeat. They had to suffer through a 98-65 loss at the hands of New Smyrna Beach. The - were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 60-36.

The Rock will have to contain BASSIROU SYLLA as he made an impact in DME Academy Blue's last game. He dropped a double-double on 25 points and 11 rebounds. Those 11 rebounds gave SYLLA a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Malik Oppon, who went 5 of 9 en route to 16 points.

The Rock's loss dropped their record down to 8-5. As for DME Academy Blue, their defeat dropped their record down to 11-10.

Everything went The Rock's way against DME Academy Blue in their previous meeting back in December of 2023, as The Rock made off with a 71-50 victory. Will The Rock repeat their success, or does DME Academy Blue have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.