Basketball Game Preview: Cartersville Hurricanes vs. Southeast Whitfield County Raiders

The Cartersville Hurricanes and the Southeast Whitfield County Raiders will compete for holiday cheer at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Cartersville has three straight wins, Southeast Whitfield County has 30 straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

Last Saturday, Cartersville was able to grind out a solid victory over Trion, taking the game 55-43.

Wyatt Thomason continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a double-double on 18 points and 21 rebounds. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 8.8 rebounds per game. Shakai Taylor was another key player, putting up eight points and 13 rebounds.

Cartersville smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in three consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Southeast Whitfield County had to suffer through a 97-26 loss at the hands of Allatoona. While losing is never fun, the Raiders can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Georgia basketball rankings (they are ranked 484th, while the Buccaneers are ranked 189th).

Cartersville's win bumped their record up to 5-3. As for Southeast Whitfield County, their loss dropped their record down to 0-10.

Everything came up roses for Cartersville against Southeast Whitfield County when the teams last played back in February of 2016, as the squad secured an 88-56 victory. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Southeast Whitfield County's Ty Pendley, who went 7 of 17 on his way to 30 points and six steals. Now that he won't be playing on Tuesday, will it be easier for Cartersville to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.