Basketball Game Preview: Smoky Mountain Mustangs vs. East Henderson Eagles

Smoky Mountain is 1-9 against East Henderson since February of 2021 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Smoky Mountain Mustangs will head out to face off against the East Henderson Eagles at 8:00 p.m. The two teams are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.

Smoky Mountain is headed into the match after thoroughly thrashing Tuscola: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Smoky Mountain blew Tuscola out of the water with a 73-46 final score. The win continues a trend for the Mustangs in their matchups with the Mountaineers: they've now won three in a row.

Meanwhile, East Henderson put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They took their game with ease, bagging an 88-58 victory over Pisgah. The Eagles have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 12 contests by 21 points or more this season.

Smoky Mountain better keep an eye on Caiden Brewer. He was instrumental in East Henderson's win, almost dropping a double-double on 40 points and nine assists. Brewer's evening made it six games in a row in which he has scored at least 19 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Eli Stokes, who went 5 of 10 on his way to 14 points.

East Henderson smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in four consecutive matches.

Smoky Mountain's record now sits at 11-12. As for East Henderson, their win was their 13th straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 23-0.

Smoky Mountain ended up a good deal behind East Henderson in their previous meeting back in January, losing 59-45. Can Smoky Mountain avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.