Basketball Game Preview: Lenoir City Panthers vs. Rhea County Golden Eagles

The Lenoir City Panthers are taking a road trip to challenge the Rhea County Golden Eagles at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Lenoir City is looking for their season's first win.

Lenoir City is headed into the contest having just suffered their biggest loss since November 26, 2024 on Tuesday. They came up short against Roane County, falling 77-54. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee basketball rankings (they are ranked 332nd, while the Yellowjackets are ranked 42nd).

Meanwhile, Rhea County really took it to Meigs County for the full four quarters, racking up a 78-36 victory. The matchup was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Golden Eagles had established a 26 point advantage.

Rhea County pushed their record up to 16-6 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 74.0 points per game. As for Lenoir City, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-11.

Everything went Lenoir City's way against Rhea County in their previous meeting back in February of 2023, as Lenoir City made off with a 72-51 victory. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Rhea County's Dupre Bryce, who went 7 for 16 on his way to 21 points and six rebounds. Now that he won't be playing on Tuesday, will it be easier for Lenoir City to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.