Basketball Game Preview: Haines City Hornets vs. Ridge Community Bolts

Haines City hasn't had much luck against Ridge Community recently, but that could start to change on Monday. The Haines City Hornets will welcome the Ridge Community Bolts at 7:00 p.m. Haines City is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 57.4 points per game this season.

Haines City came up into this matchup off a tough 30-point defeat on Tuesday. This time they kept things ultra-competitive, but unfortunately the final result was the same. They fell just short of Auburndale by a score of 39-36 on Friday. While losing is never fun, the Hornets can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 297th, while the Bloodhounds are ranked 125th).

Haines City's loss came about despite a quality game from Eddy Hyppolite Jr., who posted 18 points in addition to five boards and four steals. Hyppolite Jr. is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last six games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Dequarious Marks, who put up seven points and nine rebounds.

Meanwhile, Ridge Community was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their seventh straight defeat. They fell 59-50 to Wekiva. While the Bolts didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Mustangs 16-11 in the first quarter.

Ridge Community's loss dropped their record down to 9-13. As for Haines City, they now have a losing record at 11-12.

Haines City came up short against Ridge Community when the teams last played back in January, falling 54-44. Will Haines City have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.