Preview: Highland Hornets vs. Grants Pirates
Highland is 7-0 against Grants since April of 2021, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Highland Hornets' road trip will continue as they head out to face the Grants Pirates at 7:00 p.m. on February 16th. One thing working in Highland's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last seven matchups.
Winning is just a little bit easier when you work as a team to rack up seven more assists than your opponent, a fact Highland proved on Tuesday. They strolled past Belen with points to spare, taking the game 71-54. Given Highland's advantage in MaxPreps' New Mexico basketball rankings (they are ranked seventh, while Belen is ranked 71st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Highland relied on the efforts of Sebastian Hernandez, who scored 22 points along with seven rebounds and two steals, and Jesus Licon, who scored 21 points along with six assists and two steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Hernandez has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Raul Stanford, who scored nine points along with seven assists and six rebounds.
Meanwhile, Grants lost to St. Pius X on the road by a decisive 72-53 margin on Tuesday. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Grants in their matchups with St. Pius X: they've now lost five in a row.
Highland's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 18-5. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 70.3 points per game. As for Grants, their defeat dropped their record down to 15-9.
Highland took their win against Grants in their previous matchup back in January by a conclusive 82-58. In that contest, Highland amassed a halftime lead of 48-24, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
