Basketball Game Preview: Duarte Falcons vs. Pilibos Eagles

It'll be a Battle of the Birds when the Falcons face off against the Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Duarte has three straight victories, Pilibos has four straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

If Duarte beats Pilibos with 45 points on Thursday, it's going to be the squad's new lucky number: they've won their past two matches with that exact score. Duarte walked away with a 45-38 win over Garey on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Pilibos was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Tuesday as they fell 41-37 to Holy Martyrs Armenian.

Duarte will have to contain Lara Kasbarian as she made an impact in Pilibos' last game. She posted 13 points. Another player making a difference was Nanar Shahinian, who put up five points in addition to nine rebounds and five assists.

Pilibos now has a losing record at 12-13. As for Duarte, their victory bumped their record up to 13-7.