Basketball Game Preview: Villa Park Spartans vs. El Dorado Golden Hawks

Villa Park is 10-0 against El Dorado since February of 2018 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Villa Park Spartans will head out on the road to face off against the El Dorado Golden Hawks at 7:00 p.m. Villa Park knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past seven matchups -- so hopefully El Dorado likes a good challenge.

Villa Park will head out to face El Dorado after giving up their first home loss of the season on Tuesday. Villa Park took an 80-76 hit to the loss column at the hands of Sonora. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as the Spartans came into the contest with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 165th, while the Raiders are ranked 526th).

The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Tristan Griffin, who went 8 for 17 en route to 22 points and seven rebounds. That's the most boards he has posted since back in December of 2024. Dakari Harris was another key player, going 8 of 13 on his way to 19 points and five rebounds.

Even though they lost, Villa Park smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in three consecutive games.

El Dorado has been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They took a 74-64 hit to the loss column at the hands of Yorba Linda on Tuesday.

Villa Park's loss ended a four-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 17-9. As for El Dorado, their defeat ended a 12-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 18-8.

Villa Park took their win against El Dorado in their previous matchup on January 14th by a conclusive 71-50. The rematch might be a little tougher for Villa Park since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.