Basketball Game Preview: Topsail Pirates vs. Hoggard Vikings

Topsail hasn't had much luck against Hoggard recently, but that could start to change on Monday. The Topsail Pirates will venture away from home to challenge the Hoggard Vikings at 6:30 p.m. Having both just faced considerable losses, both teams are looking to turn things around.

Topsail came up short against Laney on Thursday, falling 67-46. While losing is never fun, the Pirates can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 279th, while the Buccaneers are ranked 80th).

Meanwhile, Hoggard suffered their biggest defeat since December 21, 2023 on Thursday. They lost 65-40 to New Hanover. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Vikings' biggest loss of the season was also their lowest-scoring.

Topsail will have to keep a close watch on Lawson Brown and Flanner Patterson, a pair of players who had a big impact on Hoggard's prior game. Brown went 5-for-11 on his way to 12 points and six boards, while Patterson posted seven points and seven rebounds.

Even though they lost, Hoggard smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in three consecutive matchups.

Hoggard's loss dropped their record down to 19-4. As for Topsail, their defeat dropped their record down to 10-14.

Topsail suffered a grim 64-40 defeat to Hoggard when the teams last played last Tuesday. Can Topsail avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.