Basketball Game Preview: Rowlett Eagles vs. North Garland Raiders

The Rowlett Eagles are taking a road trip to challenge the North Garland Raiders at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Rowlett is coming into the contest on a three-game losing streak.

Last Tuesday, Rowlett lost to Wylie East at home by a 70-54 margin. While losing is never fun, the Eagles can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 573rd, while the Raiders are ranked 225th).

Despite the loss, Rowlett saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Braylon Griffith posted 18 points in addition to five boards and three steals. The dominant performance gave Griffith a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaydan Banks, who scored nine points and three steals.

Meanwhile, North Garland hadn't done well against Naaman Forest recently (they were 0-9 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. North Garland snuck past Naaman Forest with a 54-48 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Raiders.

North Garland has also been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five games, which provided a massive bump to their 11-12 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 61.6 points per game. As for Rowlett, their defeat dropped their record down to 10-17.

Rowlett beat North Garland 67-57 in their previous matchup back in December of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for Rowlett since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.