Basketball Game Preview: Sumter Gamecocks vs. Ridge View Blazers

The Sumter Gamecocks will square off against the Ridge View Blazers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.

Sumter is probably headed into the game with a chip on their shoulder considering Blythewood just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Tuesday. They came up short against the Bengals, falling 71-50. While losing is never fun, the Gamecocks can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' South Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 72nd, while the Bengals are ranked 15th).

Meanwhile, Ridge View entered their tilt with West Florence on Tuesday with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They breezed by the Knights to the tune of 81-36. The Blazers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five contests by 20 points or more this season.

Ridge View's win bumped their record up to 9-7. As for Sumter, their defeat was their first in the region, dropping their region record down to 3-1 and their overall record down to 8-9.

Sumter lost to Ridge View on the road by a decisive 78-61 margin when the teams last played back in December of 2018. Can Sumter avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.