Basketball Game Preview: Smithfield-Selma Spartans vs. South Johnston Trojans

Smithfield-Selma is 2-8 against South Johnston since February of 2020 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. Having just played yesterday, the Smithfield-Selma Spartans will get right back to it and host the South Johnston Trojans at 6:00 p.m. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.

Smithfield-Selma is headed into the match out to prove that what happened against Triton on Thursday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Smithfield-Selma took a blow against Triton, falling 56-27. The Spartans were down 41-20 at the end of the third quarter, and things only got worse from there.

Meanwhile, South Johnston was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their seventh straight loss dating back to last season. They lost to Corinth Holders at home by a 50-34 margin. While losing is never fun, the Trojans can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 426th, while the Pirates are ranked 120th).

South Johnston's defeat dropped their record down to 0-5. As for Smithfield-Selma, their loss dropped their record down to 1-5.

Smithfield-Selma was dealt a bruising 54-8 defeat at the hands of South Johnston when the teams last played back in January. Can Smithfield-Selma avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.