Basketball Game Preview: Bessemer City Yellow Jackets vs. Shelby Golden Lions

Having just played yesterday, the Bessemer City Yellow Jackets will head out on the road to face off against the Shelby Golden Lions at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.

On Tuesday, Bessemer City earned a 76-64 win over East Gaston. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Yellow Jackets.

Bessemer City's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Josiah Guyton, who went 10 of 19 on his way to 22 points along with five assists and five boards, and Tristen Gordon, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and ten assists. The match was Guyton's third in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Raheem Mcclure, who posted eight points in addition to five assists and five rebounds.

Bessemer City smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in 12 consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Shelby had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 17.5 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 59-57 victory over the Rams. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Golden Lions have posted since March 1, 2024.

Shelby has been performing well recently as they've won eight of their last ten games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-7 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 66.1 points per game. As for Bessemer City, their record now sits at 12-8.

Things could have been worse for Bessemer City, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 72-58 loss to Shelby in their previous meeting back in January. Can Bessemer City avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.