Basketball Game Preview: Union County Fightin' Tigers vs. Keystone Heights Indians

After both having extra time off, the Union County Fightin' Tigers and the Keystone Heights Indians will dust off their jerseys to challenge one another at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Union County is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 53 points per game this season.

Two weeks ago, Union County came up short against Bradford and fell 60-49. The Fightin' Tigers have struggled against the Tornadoes recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive lost matchup.

Union County might have lost, but man, Gavin Jenkins was a machine: he went 11 of 19 on his way to 28 points in addition to five boards and three steals. Jenkins is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed three or more in the last four games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Isaiah Folaji, who posted seven points.

Meanwhile, Keystone Heights was not able to break out of their rough patch two weeks ago as the team picked up their sixth straight defeat. They took a blow against North Marion, falling 68-26. The match marked the Indians' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.

Michael Petty was Keystone Heights' leading scorer, having posted seven points.

Union County's loss dropped their record down to 3-2. As for Keystone Heights, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-7.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Union County has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 23.6 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Keystone Heights struggles in that department as they've been averaging 25.1 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Union County didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Keystone Heights in their previous meeting back in December of 2023, but they still walked away with a 65-60 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Union County since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.