Basketball Game Preview: Knight Hawks vs. Eastside Lions

The Knight Hawks will venture away from home to face off against the Eastside Lions at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. One thing working in Knight's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last 12 matches.

Knight took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Monday. They strolled past Littlerock with points to spare, taking the game 68-49.

Meanwhile, Eastside had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 13 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They came out on top against the Falcons by a score of 62-53. Given the Lions' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 544th, while the Falcons are ranked 1097th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Knight better keep an eye on Kenneth Harris. He was instrumental in Eastside's win, going 12 for 19 on his way to 28 points and eight rebounds. The dominant performance gave Harris a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Mauricio Cruz, who posted four points and eight rebounds.

Eastside smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive boards they've managed all season.

Eastside pushed their record up to 11-8 with the victory, which was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.3 points per game. As for Knight, they have been performing well recently as they've won ten of their last 13 games, which provided a nice bump to their 13-5 record this season.

Everything came up roses for Knight against Eastside when the teams last played back in December of 2023, as the squad secured a 77-33 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Knight since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.