Basketball Game Preview: Desert Pines Jaguars vs. Silverado Skyhawks

The Desert Pines Jaguars will square off against the Silverado Skyhawks at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Desert Pines' favor is that they have posted at least 55 points every time they've taken the court this season.

Desert Pines is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nevada's top teams: Foothill, who was ranked 21st at the time (Desert Pines was ranked 18th). Desert Pines took down Foothill 69-50 on Saturday.

Desert Pines found their leader in freshman Aaron McMorran, who went 8 for 16 en route to 23 points and five steals. The match was McMorran's fifth in a row with at least ten points. Tyler Merto was another key player, putting up 12 points and six boards.

Desert Pines 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 eight offensive boards in four consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Silverado was not able to break out of their rough patch on Wednesday as the team picked up their fourth straight loss. They fell 77-67 to Las Vegas. That's two games in a row now that the Skyhawks have lost by exactly ten points.

The win got Desert Pines back to even at 6-6. As for Silverado, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-13.

Desert Pines came out on top in a nail-biter against Silverado when the teams last played back in January of 2024, sneaking past 63-60. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Silverado's Cyril Franklin Jr, who posted 16 points in addition to eight rebounds and seven assists. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for Desert Pines to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.