After losing to the Saluda Tigers the last time they met, the Abbeville Panthers decided to demonstrate that turnabout is fair play. Abbeville walked away with a 60-53 win over Saluda on Wednesday. Given Abbeville's advantage in MaxPreps' South Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 51st, while Saluda is ranked 228th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Abbeville was led to victory by Justin Rollinson and Jd Baylor. Rollinson scored 13 points along with eight rebounds and five assists, while Baylor scored 13 points along with six rebounds and three steals. That's the first time this season that Rollinson pulled down eight or more rebounds. Another player making a difference was Darius Riley, who scored nine points.
Abbeville has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 6-2 record this season. As for Saluda, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 5-11.
Abbeville will head out on the road to face off against Ninety Six at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday. As for Saluda, they will be playing at home against Newberry at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Newberry knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past three contests -- so hopefully Saluda likes a good challenge.
