Preview: Hiland Hawks vs. Indian Valley Braves
Hiland has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will challenge the Indian Valley Braves at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Hiland's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last seven matchups.
Hiland only won by two when they last took the court, which might have inspired the 27-point they dealt Ridgewood on Tuesday. Hiland claimed a resounding 56-29 win over Ridgewood at home. Given Hiland's advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 55th, while Ridgewood is ranked 670th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Meanwhile, Indian Valley came tearing into Tuesday's matchup with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8.5 points) and they left with even more momentum. They came out on top against Tuscarawas Valley by a score of 54-44.
Hiland's victory was their 14th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 14-4. As for Indian Valley, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 15-3 record this season.
Hiland didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against Indian Valley in their previous matchup back in January, but they still walked away with a 44-39 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Hiland since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
