Basketball Game Preview: Kelso Hilanders vs. Auburn Mountainview Lions

The Kelso Hilanders will take on the Auburn Mountainview Lions in a tournament on Thursday.

On Monday, Kelso might have been a little too into the holiday spirit, gifting R.A. Long an easy 61-37 victory. While losing is never fun, the Hilanders can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Washington basketball rankings (they are ranked 259th, while the Lumberjacks are ranked 46th).

Meanwhile, Auburn Mountainview put another one in the bag on Saturday to keep their perfect season alive. They came out on top against Jackson by a score of 46-36. The 46-point effort marked the Lions' lowest-scoring match of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.

Auburn Mountainview's win came from a few key players Kelso will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Sebastian Arius, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and ten rebounds. He is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last ten games he's played dating back to last season. Another player making a difference was Beckett Jones, who went 5 of 7 en route to 12 points.

Auburn Mountainview's win was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 8-0. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 72.8 points per game. As for Kelso, their loss dropped their record down to 1-6.