Basketball Game Preview: Lone Star Longhorns vs. Potter-Dix Coyotes

The Lone Star Longhorns will head out on the road to face off against the Potter-Dix Coyotes on Thursday.

Lone Star is likely headed into the contest with a focus on the second half, which is when things went downhill against Caliche on Monday. Lone Star took a 46-40 hit to the loss column at the hands of Caliche. The Longhorns have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Grant Kuntz put forth a good effort for the losing side as he dropped a double-double on 15 points and 13 rebounds. He is becoming a predictor of Lone Star's success: when he posts at least eight boards the team is 2-1 (and 3-5 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Jesus Hermosillo, who went 5 for 12 en route to 12 points and five rebounds.

Even though they lost, Lone Star smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in eight consecutive matchups.

Meanwhile, Potter-Dix didn't have too much trouble with Crawford on Saturday as they won 59-45.

Lone Star better keep an eye on Dylan Tabor. He was instrumental in Potter-Dix's win, shooting 5-for-8 from deep and dropping a double-double on 23 points and ten boards. The dominant performance gave Tabor a new career-high in points. Landon Gasseling was another key player, going 7 of 17 on his way to 20 points.

Potter-Dix's victory ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 5-9. As for Lone Star, they now have a losing record at 5-6.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Lone Star has been crashing the rebounds this season, having averaged 35.7 boards per game. However, it's not like Potter-Dix struggles in that department as they've been averaging 25.6 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Lone Star couldn't quite finish off Potter-Dix in their previous matchup back in December of 2023 and fell 30-28. Can Lone Star avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.