Basketball Game Preview: Haines City Hornets vs. Auburndale Bloodhounds

Haines City hasn't had much luck against Auburndale recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Haines City Hornets will look to defend their home court against the Auburndale Bloodhounds at 8:00 p.m. Haines City is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 57.6 points per game this season.

Haines City is headed into the match out to prove that what happened against Discovery on Tuesday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Haines City was outmatched by Discovery and fell 65-35. The game marked the Hornets' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.

Loss or not, Haines City got some senior leadership from Keyjuan Odum and Kobe Key. Odum posted eight points and five boards, while Key went 5 of 10 on his way to 10 points. Another player making a difference was Kanai Washington, who had eight points and three steals.

Meanwhile, Auburndale came tearing into Thursday's match with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 13.4 points) and they left with even more momentum. They secured a 62-58 W over the Highlanders. Given the Bloodhounds' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 125th, while the Highlanders are ranked 360th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Haines City's defeat dropped their record down to 11-11. As for Auburndale, their victory was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 18-5.

Haines City might still be hurting after the 59-36 loss they got from Auburndale in their previous matchup back in December of 2023. Will Haines City have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.