Basketball Game Preview: Hanover Central Wildcats vs. Highland Trojans

The Hanover Central Wildcats are taking a road trip to take on the Highland Trojans at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.

Last Saturday, Hanover Central ended up a good deal behind Chesterton and lost 61-47. While losing is never fun, the Wildcats can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 267th, while the Trojans are ranked 95th).

Meanwhile, Highland managed to keep up with Kankakee Valley until halftime on Friday, but things quickly went downhill from there. Highland came up short against Kankakee Valley, falling 54-33. The Trojans have struggled against the Kougars recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive lost matchup.

Despite the defeat, Highland saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Sherwyn Smith posted five points. Kaleb Truitt also deserves some recognition as he grabbed his first steal of the season.

Hanover Central now has a losing record at 8-9. As for Highland, their loss dropped their record down to 9-8.

Hanover Central strolled past Highland in their previous matchup back in February of 2024 by a score of 51-37. The rematch might be a little tougher for Hanover Central since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.