Basketball Game Preview: Houghton Lake Bobcats vs. Pine River Area Bucks

The Houghton Lake Bobcats will head out on the road to challenge the Pine River Area Bucks at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Houghton Lake's offense hasn't had much luck over their past three contests, but Thursday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

It's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 54-15, which was the final score in Houghton Lake's tilt against Manton on Tuesday. While losing is never fun, the Bobcats can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Michigan basketball rankings (they are ranked 501st, while the Rangers are ranked 131st).

Meanwhile, Pine River Area played a tough match on Tuesday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They came up short against Roscommon, falling 58-38. Pine River Area has struggled against Roscommon recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive lost matchup.

Pine River Area's defeat dropped their record down to 5-8. As for Houghton Lake, their loss dropped their record down to 3-11.

Houghton Lake was taken down by Pine River Area 68-30 in their previous meeting back in December of 2024. Can Houghton Lake avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.