Basketball Game Preview: Carolina Forest Panthers vs. Legion Collegiate Academy Lancers

The Carolina Forest Panthers will take on the Legion Collegiate Academy Lancers in a tournament on Thursday. Carolina Forest knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past eight games -- so hopefully Legion Collegiate Academy likes a good challenge.

While Carolina Forest didn't have the best season last year (they finished 4-17), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They came out on top against North Brunswick by a score of 77-70 last Friday. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked eighth in South Carolina, while the Scorpions are ranked 265th in North Carolina), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

JJ Gray

Points

12/20/24 @ North Brunswick	37
12/13/24 vs Stratford	25
12/17/24 @ Loris	21
12/12/24 vs South Florence	13
12/10/24 @ Georgetown	12

Carolina Forest found their leader in freshman JJ Gray, who went 12 of 18 on his way to 37 points and three steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Gray has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Zechariah Gardner, who posted nine points and three steals.

Meanwhile, Legion Collegiate Academy had to suffer through a 109-78 loss at the hands of Cannon. The Lancers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Carolina Forest's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 8-0. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 78.3 points per game. As for Legion Collegiate Academy, their loss dropped their record down to 3-13.