Basketball Game Preview: Spring Valley Vikings vs. Sumter Gamecocks

After both having extra time off, the Spring Valley Vikings and the Sumter Gamecocks will dust off their jerseys to square off against one another at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Spring Valley's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last five contests.

Spring Valley is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of South Carolina's top teams: Mauldin, who was ranked 14th at the time (Spring Valley was ranked 12th). Spring Valley simply couldn't be stopped last Monday as they easily beat Mauldin 82-43. The Vikings have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five games by 33 points or more this season.

Mariana Moody continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, going 14 for 22 on her way to 31 points in addition to seven rebounds and three steals. The dominant performance gave her a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Zie'L Ratchford, who went 5 of 11 on her way to 11 points along with six rebounds and five steals.

Spring Valley 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 eight offensive boards in 25 consecutive matches dating back to last season.

Meanwhile, after a string of four wins, Sumter's good fortune finally ran out last Saturday. They took a blow against David Crockett, falling 72-36. The contest marked the Gamecocks' lowest-scoring game so far this season.

Spring Valley has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 8-4 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.7 points per game. As for Sumter, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-3.

Spring Valley took a serious blow against Sumter in their previous meeting back in February of 2020, falling 66-38. Will Spring Valley have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.