Basketball Game Preview: Big Bear Bears vs. Citrus Hill Hawks

Two dominant forwards in Aiden Brewer and Jerren White are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Big Bear Bears will take on the Citrus Hill Hawks at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Big Bear took a loss when they played away from home on Saturday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They were the clear victor by a 76-54 margin over Silver Valley.

Meanwhile, you can't lose the game if you win every quarter, and that was precisely Citrus Hill's strategy against Tahquitz on Tuesday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Citrus Hill blew Tahquitz out of the water with an 87-50 final score. The matchup was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Hawks had established a 24 point advantage.

Citrus Hill's win came from a few key players Big Bear will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was White, who dropped a triple-double on 12 points, 16 boards, and ten assists. He is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last 12 games he's played dating back to last season. Another player making a difference was Kannon Steward, who went 7 of 11 en route to 17 points and six assists.

Big Bear has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five games, which provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 29.5 points. As for Citrus Hill, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 4-5.

Big Bear didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Citrus Hill when the teams last played back in December of 2023, but they still walked away with a 76-72 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Big Bear since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.