Basketball Game Preview: Leroy Bears vs. Southern Choctaw Indians

Leroy and Southern Choctaw are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2019, but not for long. The Leroy Bears will take on the Southern Choctaw Indians at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Leroy is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last four games.

Leroy is headed into the game having just posted their closest victory since February 6, 2024 on Friday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past Millry 43-40. The score was all tied up 19-19 at the break, but the Bears were the better team in the second half.

Leroy found their leader in sophomore Ian White, who went 5 for 12 on his way to 15 points and six boards. White's evening made it four games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Joshua Reed, who posted nine points and five rebounds.

Leroy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 12 offensive boards in five consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Southern Choctaw hadn't done well against McIntosh recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Monday. Southern Choctaw took down McIntosh 48-32. Winning may never get old, but the Indians sure are getting used to it with their third in a row.

Leroy pushed their record up to 7-6 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. As for Southern Choctaw, they are also on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven matches, which provided a nice bump to their 11-2 record this season.

Leroy might still be hurting after the 62-39 loss they got from Southern Choctaw in their previous matchup two weeks ago. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Southern Choctaw's Lamarrance Thompson, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 11 boards. Now that Leroy knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.