Basketball Game Preview: Lakewood Gators vs. River Bluff Gators

The Lakewood Gators and the River Bluff Gators will round out the year against one another at at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday. Lakewood is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 50.9 points per game this season.

Last Friday, the stars were shining brightly for Lakewood in a 50-33 win over Darlington.

Lakewood's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Darius Franklin led the charge by dropping a double-double on 19 points and 14 rebounds. Franklin has become a key player for Lakewood: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least eight rebounds, but 4-5 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Andre Mcbride, who posted ten points and five steals.

Meanwhile, River Bluff lost to Lugoff-Elgin on the road by a 56-38 margin on Tuesday. The contest marked the Gators' lowest-scoring game so far this season.

Loss or not, River Bluff got some senior leadership from Dax Avery and Mason Young. Avery put up seven points and five rebounds, while Young had seven points and six rebounds.

Even though they lost, River Bluff smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in four consecutive matchups.

River Bluff's defeat dropped their record down to 5-4. As for Lakewood, their victory ended a four-game drought on the road and puts them at 6-6.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Lakewood has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 26.4 boards per game. However, it's not like River Bluff struggles in that department as they've been averaging 30.2 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Lakewood was taken down by River Bluff 71-42 when the teams last played back in November. Can Lakewood avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.