Basketball Game Preview: Riverdale Raiders vs. Gateway Eagles

Riverdale is on a five-game streak of home losses also dating back to last season, Gateway a four-game streak of away losses also dating back to last season, but someone's luck will change on Friday. The Riverdale Raiders will host the Gateway Eagles at 7:30 p.m.

Last Tuesday, Riverdale took a blow against Lehigh, falling 92-33. While losing is never fun, the Raiders can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 668th, while the Lightning are ranked 179th).

Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Malachii Russ, who posted nine points. The team also got some help courtesy of Rayshaun Lindor, who put up nine points.

Meanwhile, Gateway slipped by Dunbar 53-52 on Thursday.

Gateway now has a winning record of 4-3. As for Riverdale, their loss dropped their record down to 0-7.

Riverdale took a serious blow against Gateway when the teams last played back in January of 2022, falling 83-39. Thankfully for Riverdale, Colin Alvarez (who made all 7 shots he took from beyond the arc racking up 30 points and six rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.