Basketball Game Preview: Metter Tigers vs. Claxton Tigers

After both having extra time off, the Metter Tigers and the Claxton Tigers will dust off their jerseys to challenge one another at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Metter is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 56.7 points per game this season.

Metter will head into Friday's matchup on the come-up: they were handed a heart-breaking two-point loss in their last contest, but they sure didn't let that happen against Montgomery County last Friday. Metter breezed by Montgomery County to the tune of 64-37. Given the Tigers' advantage in MaxPreps' Georgia basketball rankings (they are ranked 229th, while the Eagles are ranked 504th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Za'Kyah Byrd continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a double-double on 25 points and 15 boards. The dominant performance gave her a new career-high in points. Another player making a difference was Zion Saffore, who almost dropped a triple-double on ten points, 11 rebounds, and nine steals.

Metter smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 44 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in 14 consecutive games dating back to last season.

Meanwhile, Claxton played a tough match last Friday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They were beaten by Appling County 68-26. The defeat continues a trend for the Tigers in their matchups with the Pirates: they've now lost three in a row.

Metter's record is now 5-2. As for Claxton, their loss dropped their record down to 3-5.

Everything came up roses for Metter against Claxton in their previous matchup back in January, as the squad secured a 71-29 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Metter since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.