The Keenan Raiders were the 55-51 winner over the James F. Byrnes Rebels when they last played one another back in December of 2019, but their luck changed this time around. Keenan fell 60-52 to James F. Byrnes on Monday. While losing is never fun, Keenan can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' South Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 85th, while James F. Byrnes is ranked ninth).
Several Raiders players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Brian Sumpter, who scored eight points along with seven rebounds and four blocks. Sumpter hasn't dropped below two blocks for three straight games. Emanuel Mccullough was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with six assists and six rebounds.
James F. Byrnes was led to victory by Kayzzin McDowell and Will Fowler. McDowell scored 11 points along with six rebounds and three steals, while Fowler scored 15 points. McDowell has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last six times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Colt Fowler, who scored 12 points.
Keenan has not been sharp recently, as they've lost six of their last eight matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-14 record this season. As for James F. Byrnes, they are on a roll lately: they've won 11 of their last 12 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 15-4 record this season.
Keenan will be playing in front of their home fans against Gray Collegiate Academy at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Gray Collegiate Academy has six straight wins, Keenan has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field. As for James F. Byrnes, they will head out on the road to take on Dorman at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Dorman will be looking to keep their four-game home win streak alive.
