The Eastside Rams are taking a road trip to square off against the Gainesville Hurricanes at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Given that both suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.
Last Thursday, Eastside came up short against Santa Fe 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 defeat, Eastside saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Jai'Vion Williams posted seven points. Another player making a difference was Gage Webber, who put up three steals.
Even though they lost, Eastside smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in five consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Gainesville unfortunately witnessed the end of their six-game winning streak on Tuesday. They were beaten by Newberry 74-42. The Hurricanes were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 40-19.
Eastside has 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. As for Gainesville, their loss ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 17-7.
Eastside came up short against Gainesville in their previous meeting on January 10th, falling 51-43. Can Eastside avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
