Basketball Game Preview: Pine View Panthers vs. Desert Hills Thunder

Two dominant guards in Jelani Odjegba and Ben Chase are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Pine View Panthers will welcome the Desert Hills Thunder at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.

Last Friday, Pine View was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 55-51 to Dixie.

Meanwhile, Desert Hills didn't have quite enough to beat Crimson Cliffs on Friday and fell 63-61. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Thunder have suffered against the Mustangs since February 3, 2021.

Pine View will have to contain Jack Openshaw as he made an impact in Desert Hills' last game. He dropped a double-double on 22 points and 13 rebounds. Those 22 points gave Openshaw a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Chase, who went 5 of 8 en route to 12 points.

Even though they lost, Desert Hills smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive boards in three consecutive games.

Desert Hills dropped their record down to 11-10 with the defeat, which was their third straight at home. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.3 points per game. As for Pine View, their loss dropped their record down to 13-7.

Pine View didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Desert Hills in their previous meeting last Wednesday, but they still walked away with a 56-52 win. Does Pine View have another victory up their sleeve, or will Desert Hills turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.