The Cleveland Blue Raiders will face off against the Rhea County Golden Eagles at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Last Tuesday, Cleveland earned a 73-66 win over Howard Tech. Given the Blue Raiders' advantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee basketball rankings (they are ranked 122nd, while the Hustlin' Tigers are ranked 376th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Cleveland got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Tim Matthews out in front who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 12 rebounds. Matthews continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Antonio Westfield, who went 8 for 10 en route to 18 points.
Cleveland was working as a unit and finished the game with 22 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Rhea County has been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They took a 76-63 hit to the loss column at the hands of Walker Valley on Friday. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game last Tuesday (60), the Golden Eagles still had to take the loss.
Cleveland's win bumped their record up to 10-6. As for Rhea County, their defeat dropped their record down to 16-8.
Cleveland lost to Rhea County at home by a decisive 66-52 margin when the teams last played back in February of 2024. Will Cleveland have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
