Basketball Game Preview: Bessemer City Yellow Jackets vs. East Gaston Warriors

The Bessemer City Yellow Jackets will challenge the East Gaston Warriors at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. One thing working in Bessemer City's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last six contests.

Having struggled with four defeats in a row, Bessemer City turned things around against Cherryville on Friday. They walked away with a 66-59 victory over the Ironmen.

Josiah Guyton was his usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 22 points and 11 boards. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in rebounds. Another player making a difference was Tristen Gordon, who posted ten points in addition to eight assists and five boards.

Bessemer City smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in 11 consecutive games.

Meanwhile, East Gaston suffered their closest loss since November 22, 2024 on Friday. They fell just short of Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy by a score of 61-58. While losing is never fun, the Warriors can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 600th, while the Gryphons are ranked 266th).

East Gaston dropped their record down to 3-16 with the defeat, which was their third straight at home. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.3 points per game. As for Bessemer City, their win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 11-8.

Bessemer City took their victory against East Gaston in their previous matchup back in January by a conclusive 84-61. Does Bessemer City have another victory up their sleeve, or will East Gaston turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.