Basketball Game Preview: Westside Patriots vs. Howard Huskies

The Westside Patriots will head out to challenge the Howard Huskies at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Westside knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past six matchups -- so hopefully Howard likes a good challenge.

Westside took a loss when they played away from home on Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They took their contest with ease, bagging an 81-52 win over Hephzibah. Given the Patriots' advantage in MaxPreps' Georgia basketball rankings (they are ranked 112th, while the Rebels are ranked 408th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Jarious Adkinson and Dontrell Jackson were among the main playmakers for Westside as the former went 9 for 17 en route to 22 points and three steals and the latter went 5 of 11 on his way to 17 points in addition to seven steals and six assists. Those 22 points gave Adkinson a new career-high. Aldrion Jones was another key player, going 6 for 10 on his way to 16 points and five boards.

They weren't the only one working in the assists department: Westside was working as a unit and finished the game with 24 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

Meanwhile, Howard came up short against Westside on Wednesday and fell 58-45. The Huskies have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Westside has been performing well recently as they've won ten of their last 13 games, which provided a nice bump to their 15-9 record this season. As for Howard, their loss dropped their record down to 7-14.

Everything came up roses for Westside against Howard when the teams last played back in January, as the team secured a 74-25 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Westside since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.