Basketball Game Preview: Tanner Rattlers vs. Decatur Heritage Christian Academy Eagles

Tanner and Decatur Heritage Christian Academy are an even 4-4 against one another since January of 2017, but not for long. The Tanner Rattlers will square off against the Decatur Heritage Christian Academy Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.

Tanner is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. They secured a 70-65 W over Lexington. The win was a breath of fresh air for the Rattlers as it put an end to their three-game losing streak.

Tanner got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Kaden Freeman out in front who went 7 for 13 on his way to 22 points. Freeman's evening made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Elyjah Jones, who went 6 of 11 en route to 19 points and eight boards.

Meanwhile, Decatur Heritage Christian Academy had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 11 points) and they went ahead and made it six on Saturday. They put the hurt on the Lions with a sharp 75-54 win. Given the Eagles' advantage in MaxPreps' Alabama basketball rankings (they are ranked 154th, while the Lions are ranked 412th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Decatur Heritage Christian Academy's victory was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 16-9. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 69.0 points per game. As for Tanner, the win got them back to even at 13-13.

Tanner couldn't quite finish off Decatur Heritage Christian Academy in their previous matchup on Monday and fell 67-65. Can Tanner avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.