Basketball Game Preview: Leflore County Tigers vs. Kosciusko Whippets

The Leflore County Tigers will take on the Kosciusko Whippets in a holiday battle at at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Leflore County sitting on four straight victories and Kosciusko on three.

Last Tuesday, Leflore County was able to grind out a solid win over Shaw, taking the game 42-34.

Meanwhile, Kosciusko didn't have too much trouble with West Lowndes on Tuesday as they won 61-44. Given the Whippets' advantage in MaxPreps' Mississippi basketball rankings (they are ranked 61st, while the Panthers are ranked 218th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Kosciusko's win came from a few key players Leflore County will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Cory Guyton Jr, who went 7 of 12 on his way to 21 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaybre Pierce, who went 5 for 10 on his way to 11 points in addition to six rebounds and six steals.

Kosciusko smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in 16 consecutive matchups dating back to last season.

Leflore County pushed their record up to 10-3 with the victory, which was their fourth straight on the road. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 57.8 points per game. As for Kosciusko, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won nine of their last ten contests, which provided a nice bump to their 11-3 record this season.

Leflore County took a serious blow against Kosciusko in their previous meeting back in November of 2023, falling 67-40. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Guyton Jr, who went 9 of 20 on his way to 20 points along with six steals and five assists. Now that Leflore County knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.