Basketball Game Preview: Del Norte Knights vs. Highland Hornets

Del Norte hasn't had much luck against Highland recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Del Norte Knights will head out to square off against the Highland Hornets at 5:15 p.m. Del Norte has been dominant on offense recently, having racked up an incredible 187 points over their last three contests.

Del Norte will head into Wednesday's match on the come-up: they were handed a heart-breaking three-point defeat in their last game, but they sure didn't let that happen against Rio Grande on Wednesday. Everything went Del Norte's way against Rio Grande as Del Norte made off with a 66-46 win. The Knights have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five contests by 20 points or more this season.

Meanwhile, Highland hadn't done well against Albuquerque recently (they were 1-6 in their previous seven matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Wednesday. In a tight game that could have gone either way, Highland made off with a 51-50 victory over Albuquerque. The win almost wasn't to be: the Hornets were down 35-20 in the second quarter.

Highland found their leader in sophomore Jerry Moody, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 19 boards. Those 19 boards gave Moody a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Juan Campuzano, who posted seven points and seven rebounds.

Highland smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 21 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 12 offensive rebounds in 13 consecutive matchups dating back to last season.

Del Norte's victory ended a four-game drought at home and bumped them up to 7-5. As for Highland, their win ended a four-game drought on the road and puts them at 5-7.

Del Norte came up short against Highland when the teams last played back in January of 2024, falling 39-31. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Highland's Jesus Licon, who went 9 of 20 on his way to 27 points and three blocks. Now that Del Norte knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.