The Westside Rams will face off against the Daniel Lions at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Westside is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of South Carolina's top teams: Greenville, who was ranked seventh at the time (Westside was ranked 15th). Westside took a 66-55 hit to the loss column at the hands of Greenville on Sunday. The Rams have been going strong on the season, but this is now their second loss in a row.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Keemaj Clinkscales, who posted 11 points and three steals. Kmajay Jenkins was another key player, putting up 16 points.
Meanwhile, Daniel entered their tilt with West-Oak on Friday with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. They blew past the Warriors, posting a 77-17 win. The Lions have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four matches by 20 points or more this season.
Daniel found their leader in sophomore James Epting, who went 8 of 13 on his way to 20 points and three steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Epting has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Noah Smith, who had 13 points along with eight rebounds and three steals.
Daniel smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in 11 consecutive contests.
Daniel pushed their record up to 9-3 with the victory, which was their eighth straight at home. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 71.0 points per game. As for Westside, their defeat ended a five-game streak of away wins and brought them to 11-2.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Westside has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 30.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Daniel struggles in that department as they've been averaging 33.9 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Westside didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Daniel in their previous matchup back in December of 2022, but they still walked away with a 61-55 win. Will Westside repeat their success, or does Daniel have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
