The Gaffney Indians will be playing in front of their home fans against the J.L. Mann Patriots at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Last Friday, Gaffney faced James F. Byrnes in a battle between two of the state's top teams. Everything went Gaffney's way against James F. Byrnes as Gaffney made off with a 53-33 victory. The win was familiar territory for Gaffney who now have five in a row.
Gaffney got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Lauren Mathis out in front who scored ten points along with six rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Tianah Hopper, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and ten rebounds.
Meanwhile, J.L. Mann had already proven themselves in the regular season, and didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They were the clear victor by a 76-54 margin over Spartanburg. Given J.L. Mann's advantage in MaxPreps' South Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked eighth, while Spartanburg is ranked 99th), the result on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.
J.L. Mann relied on the efforts of Jade Hailstock, who almost dropped a double-double on 23 points and nine rebounds, and Imari Richardson, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 12 rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Hailstock has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Anaya Dillard, who scored 12 points along with four steals.
Gaffney is on a roll lately: they've won 15 of their last 16 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 19-5 record this season. As for J.L. Mann, they pushed their record up to 20-4 with that victory, which was their fifth straight at home.
Monday's contest is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Gaffney have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 41.1% of their threes per game. However, it's not like J.L. Mann struggles in that department as they've made 38.3% of their threes this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Gaffney ended up a good deal behind J.L. Mann in their previous matchup back in December of 2023, losing 65-47. Can Gaffney avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
