Basketball Game Preview: Black Hills Wolves vs. Eatonville Cruisers

The Black Hills Wolves are taking a road trip to challenge the Eatonville Cruisers at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Black Hills has struggled recently with five defeats in a row, while Eatonville will arrive with seven straight wins.

Black Hills is headed into the match out to prove that what happened against WF West on Thursday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Black Hills came up short against WF West, falling 61-37. While losing is never fun, the Wolves can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Washington basketball rankings (they are ranked 151st, while the Bearcats are ranked 12th).

Despite their loss, Black Hills saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Tyler Venable, who posted 13 points and five steals, was perhaps the best of all. The team also got some help courtesy of Kiley McMahon, who had 14 points.

Meanwhile, Eatonville strolled past Fife with points to spare on Friday, taking the game 55-39.

Eatonville's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 8-1. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.0 points per game. As for Black Hills, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-5.

Black Hills was able to grind out a solid win over Eatonville in their previous meeting back in December of 2023, winning 52-42. The rematch might be a little tougher for Black Hills since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.