Basketball Game Preview: Cleveland Blue Raiders vs. Rhea County Golden Eagles

The Cleveland Blue Raiders will venture away from home to square off against the Rhea County Golden Eagles at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Cleveland has now lost seven straight, leaving the team hunting for their first win since January 24.

Cleveland lost 72-49 to Oak Ridge on Tuesday. While losing is never fun, the Blue Raiders can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee basketball rankings (they are ranked 154th, while the Wildcats are ranked 21st).

Meanwhile, Rhea County was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Tuesday as they fell 73-67 to McMinn County. The Golden Eagles haven't had much luck with the Cherokees recently, as the team's come up short the last three times they've met.

Cleveland's loss dropped their record down to 11-13. As for Rhea County, their defeat dropped their record down to 19-11.

Cleveland didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Rhea County in their previous matchup back in January, but they still walked away with a 60-55 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Cleveland since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.