Basketball Game Preview: Rains Wildcats vs. Commerce Tigers

A feisty cat fight will be fought when the Rains Wildcats face off against the Commerce Tigers at 2:00 p.m. on Friday... Rains will be looking to extend their current five-game winning streak.

Rains saw some tournament action on Saturday. They wrapped up 2024 with a 59-41 win over Saint Jo. Given the Wildcats' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 584th, while the Panthers are ranked 1237th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Commerce unfortunately witnessed the end of their five-game winning streak on Saturday. They took a blow against Celina, falling 79-46. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest loss the Tigers have suffered since December 10th.

Rains is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 14-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 69.4 points per game. As for Commerce, their defeat dropped their record down to 13-7.

Rains was able to grind out a solid victory over Commerce in their previous meeting back in February, winning 54-41. The rematch might be a little tougher for Rains since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.