Preview: Compton Tartars at Long Beach Vikings

LONG BEACH, Calif. (Interstat) — A tight South Coast Conference rematch is set for Friday night when the Compton College Tartars visit the Long Beach City College Vikings in a men’s junior college basketball game.

The teams met just over two weeks ago, on Jan. 28, with host Compton escaping with a 62-61 victory. That result typified the season for both squads, with Compton (10-14 overall) finding a way to win a close game and Long Beach (4-19) suffering another narrow defeat.

Despite their losing record, the Vikings have shown recent offensive sparks, led by guard Lawrence Brown. He is coming off a 19-point, 8-assist performance in a 90-81 loss to Cerritos on Feb. 4 and scored 27 points against El Camino on Jan. 23. In the first meeting with Compton, Brown logged 10 points and six assists.

The Tartars, who have won three of their last five, rely on forward Israel Nansha for interior presence. Nansha is averaging 7.2 points and 8.0 rebounds over his last five games, highlighted by a 13-rebound, 5-block effort in a 73-70 road win at El Camino on Feb. 6. In that victory, guard Ley McGovern provided a scoring punch with 22 points.

Long Beach seeks to end a six-game losing streak, with their last win coming on Jan. 7 against Los Angeles City. Their recent games, however, have been competitive, with four of the six losses by 10 points or fewer.

Compton has been inconsistent but enters with more momentum, having won two of its last three, including the head-to-head victory over Long Beach.

A statistical projection from Interstat forecasts a dead-even contest, simulating a 100-100 final score, suggesting a potential for high-paced offense and another down-to-the-wire finish.

The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tipoff at the Long Beach City College gymnasium.