Basketball Game Preview: Centennial Rams vs. Hanover Hornets

The Centennial Rams will challenge the Hanover Hornets at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Centennial is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against Primero on Thursday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Centennial was dealt an 83-33 defeat at the hands of Primero. The Rams haven't had much luck with the Bulldogs recently, as the team has come up short the last eight times they've met.

Meanwhile, Hanover really took it to Aguilar for the full four quarters, racking up a 65-22 win. The Hornets have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won nine contests by 28 points or more this season.

Hanover had a senior duo take command as Tyler Decker almost dropped a double-double with 18 points and nine boards and Junior Diaz posted 15 points in addition to five assists and five steals. Diaz is becoming a predictor of Hanover's success: when he posts at least three steals the team is 9-2 (and 2-5 when he doesn't). Hector Lopez was another key player, putting up four points along with seven steals and six assists.

Hanover smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in seven consecutive games.

Hanover pushed their record up to 11-7 with the victory, which was their fourth straight on the road. Those victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 26.3 points over those games. As for Centennial, their loss dropped their record down to 8-11.