Basketball Game Preview: Loris Lions vs. Aynor Blue Jackets

Loris is 10-0 against Aynor since February of 2019 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Loris Lions will head out to take on the Aynor Blue Jackets at 7:30 p.m. One thing working in Loris' favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last seven games.

Loris is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Marion just ended the team's six-game winning streak on Monday. They fell just short of the Swamp Foxes by a score of 69-67. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game on Friday (57), the Lions still had to take the loss.

Loris might have lost, but man, NIGEL MILLER was a machine: he went 8 for 16 on his way to 23 points and three steals. MILLER has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last three times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of JACOBIEN LEWIS, who went 5 of 9 en route to 14 points.

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

Meanwhile, Aynor was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their fourth straight defeat. They took a hard 71-52 fall against Waccamaw. While losing is never fun, the Blue Jackets can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' South Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 232nd, while the Warriors are ranked 106th).

Loris will have to keep a close watch on Robinson Mendez and Lucas Kamp, a pair of players who had a big impact on Aynor's prior game. Mendez went 6 for 12 on his way to 18 points and seven boards, while Kamp went 7 of 10 en route to 17 points. The dominant performance gave Mendez a new career-high in points. Another player making a difference was Jamarion Mitchell, who posted two points and seven assists.

Aynor's record now sits at 6-10. As for Loris, their loss ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 8-7.

Loris beat Aynor 53-40 when the teams last played back in February of 2024. Will Loris repeat their success, or does Aynor have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.