Two dominant guards in Antron Mason II and Cooper Nelson are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Bastrop Rams will be playing in front of their home fans against the Sterlington Panthers at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Bastrop has six straight wins, Sterlington has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the court.
Bastrop will bounce into Friday's contest after beating Carroll, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. Bastrop came out on top against Carroll by a score of 68-61 on Tuesday.
| 01/28/25 @ Carroll | 12 |
| 01/03/25 vs Delhi Charter | 11 |
| 11/18/24 vs Delhi | 10 |
| 01/02/25 vs Delhi | 9 |
| 01/21/25 vs North Webster | 9 |
Bastrop's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Devin Tyson, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and 12 rebounds. The dominant performance gave Tyson a new career-high in boards. Mason II was another key player, dropping a double-double on 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Bastrop smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 12 offensive rebounds in seven consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Sterlington scored the most points they've had this season on Tuesday, but it wasn't enough. They lost 97-76 to Richwood. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Louisiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 161st, while the Rams are ranked 50th).
Bastrop will have to contain Nelson as he made an impact in Sterlington's last game. He went 11 of 21 on his way to 36 points and six assists. That was a full 47.4% of Sterlington's points, marking the seventh time in a row he's posted more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Gaven Evans, who went 6 for 12 en route to 15 points.
Bastrop pushed their record up to 13-4 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 77.3 points per game. As for Sterlington, their defeat dropped their record down to 11-14.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Bastrop has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 35.6 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Sterlington struggles in that department as they've been averaging 27.6 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Bastrop was dealt a bruising 74-37 loss at the hands of Sterlington when the teams last played back in January of 2024. Will Bastrop have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other basketball content.
