Basketball Game Preview: Evanston Devils vs. Rock Springs TIGERS

The Evanston Devils will look to take advantage of their home court for the first time this season as they take on the Rock Springs TIGERS at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.

Evanston is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Bonneville just ended the team's three-game winning streak last Saturday. They fell 75-64 to the Bees.

Meanwhile, Rock Springs also suffered a loss in their last game, but this one to East by a score of 77-70. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game on Saturday (59), the TIGERS still had to take the loss.

Evanston will need focus on slowing down Arrington Purvis, one of several Rock Springs players who made an impact when they last played. He dropped a double-double on 15 points and ten boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Boston James, who went 6 of 11 on his way to 17 points and eight rebounds.

Even though they lost, Rock Springs smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in three consecutive matches.

Rock Springs has traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-4 record this season. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.5 points per game. As for Evanston, their loss dropped their record down to 5-4.

Evanston was able to grind out a solid win over Rock Springs when the teams last played back in March of 2024, winning 49-41. Will Evanston repeat their success, or does Rock Springs have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.