Basketball Game Preview: Clarksville Generals vs. Southwestern Rebels

Clarksville hasn't had much luck against Southwestern recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The two teams will round out the year against one another at at 11:00 a.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Clarksville came up into this matchup off a tough 32-point loss last Friday. This time they kept things ultra-competitive, but unfortunately the final result was the same. They fell just short of Eastern by a score of 82-79 last Saturday. One positive for the Generals, at least, is that this was the most points they've scored all season.

Clarksville might have lost, but man, Ray McClendon was a machine: he went 18 for 31 on his way to 48 points in addition to six boards and three steals. With that strong performance, McClendon is now averaging an impressive 18.8 points per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Christian Lee, who posted ten points and six rebounds.

Meanwhile, Southwestern had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 22.5 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They took down the Eagles 72-57. Given the Rebels' advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 94th, while the Eagles are ranked 249th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Southwestern's win came from a few key players Clarksville will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Landon Kidwell, who dropped a double-double on 28 points and ten boards. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in points. Another player making a difference was Brady Cook, who almost dropped a double-double on 17 points and nine assists.

Southwestern's victory was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-1. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 66.2 points per game. As for Clarksville, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 1-4.

Clarksville came up short against Southwestern when the teams last played back in February, falling 56-47. Can Clarksville avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.