Basketball Game Preview: Lake Minneola Hawks vs. Hope Academy Trojan Tigers

The Lake Minneola Hawks will face off against the Hope Academy Trojan Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.

Lake Minneola's tournament run continued when they took on Stranahan on Saturday. Lake Minneola took a 63-56 hit to the loss column at the hands of Stranahan. While losing is never fun, the Hawks can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 145th, while the Mighty Dragons are ranked 39th).

Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Tyrell Thomas, who went 6 for 10 on his way to 12 points and five rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Ethan Isom, who posted 11 points and five boards.

Meanwhile, Hope Academy entered their tilt with South Sumter last Saturday with nine consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with ten. The stars were shining brightly for them in a 72-55 win over the Raiders.

Hope Academy's win came from a few key players Lake Minneola will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Willie Griggs, who dropped a triple-double on 13 points, 11 boards, and ten blocks. He is on a roll when it comes to blocks, as he's now posted two or more in the last 23 games he's played dating back to last season. Nehemiah Rapael was another key player, putting up 16 points and seven rebounds.

Hope Academy's victory bumped their record up to 11-2. As for Lake Minneola, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 9-6 record this season.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Lake Minneola hasn't given up the ball easily this season, having only averaged 8.1 turnovers per game. However, it's not like Hope Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 9.5 turnovers. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other basketball content.