Basketball Game Preview: River Ridge Knights vs. New Manchester Jaguar

The River Ridge Knights will square off against the New Manchester Jaguar at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. One thing working in River Ridge's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last 25 contests.

River Ridge is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They came out on top against Morrow by a score of 74-61. Given the Knights' advantage in MaxPreps' Georgia basketball rankings (they are ranked first, while the Mustangs are ranked 48th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Kayla Cleaveland

Points

02/21/25 vs Morrow	23
02/18/25 vs Gainesville	16
02/14/25 vs Creekview	24
02/12/25 vs Sequoyah	29
02/04/25 vs Woodstock	17

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead River Ridge to victory, but perhaps none more so than Kayla Cleaveland, who dropped a double-double with 23 points and 15 rebounds. Cleaveland's evening made it five games in a row in which she has scored at least 16 points. Another player making a difference was Finley Parker, who went 8-for-17 en route to 18 points and seven boards.

River Ridge smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in 17 consecutive matchups.

Meanwhile, New Manchester strolled past Coffee with points to spare on Friday, taking the game 63-48. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Jaguar.

River Ridge's victory was their 22nd straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 28-1. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 34.1 points. As for New Manchester, their win bumped their record up to 24-5.

River Ridge strolled past New Manchester in their previous matchup back in February of 2024 by a score of 71-56. Will River Ridge repeat their success, or does New Manchester have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.