Basketball Game Preview: Rising Sun Shiners vs. Southwestern Rebels

Rising Sun hasn't had much luck against Southwestern recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Rising Sun Shiners will be playing at home against the Southwestern Rebels at 7:30 p.m. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this match.

Last Saturday, Rising Sun came up short against South Decatur and fell 61-54. The Shiners have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Derriance Pitts

Points (Career)

02/08/25 @ South Decatur	10
02/01/25 vs Crothersville	9
12/20/24 vs New Washington	9
12/07/24 vs Jac-Cen-Del	9
12/13/24 vs Switzerland County	8

The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Derriance Pitts, who posted ten points. Those ten points gave him a new career-high. Dj Williams was another key player, putting up 17 points.

Meanwhile, Southwestern was just a bucket shy of victory on Thursday and fell 55-54 to South Ripley.

Rising Sun will have to contain Landon Kidwell as he made an impact in Southwestern's last game. He went 9 for 10 on his way to 20 points. Kidwell is also on a roll when it comes to shooting accuracy, as he's posted one of at least 45% in the last six games he's played. Another player making a difference was Braxton Lewis, who went 5 of 10 to rack up 16 points.

Rising Sun's defeat dropped their record down to 4-16. As for Southwestern, their loss ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 13-4.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Rising Sun has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 24.7 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Southwestern struggles in that department as they've been averaging 25.6 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Rising Sun took a serious blow against Southwestern when the teams last played back in February of 2024, falling 66-35. Will Rising Sun have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other basketball content.