The Gainesville Hurricanes will take on the Eastside Rams at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
Gainesville is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering Newberry just ended the team's six-game winning streak on Tuesday. They were outmatched by the Panthers and fell 74-42. The Hurricanes were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 40-19.
Meanwhile, Eastside came up short against Santa Fe on Thursday and fell 43-36. While losing is never fun, the Rams can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 437th, while the Raiders are ranked 196th).
Despite the loss, Eastside saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Jai'Vion Williams posted seven points. The team also got some help courtesy of Gage Webber, who had three steals.
Even though they lost, Eastside 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 nine offensive boards in five consecutive contests.
Gainesville's defeat ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 17-7. As for Eastside, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost 12 of their last 14 games, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-16 record this season.
Gainesville was able to grind out a solid victory over Eastside when the teams last played on January 10th, winning 51-43. Does Gainesville have another victory up their sleeve, or will Eastside turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps