Basketball Game Preview: Hughes BIG RED vs. Aiken Falcons

The Hughes BIG RED will square off against the Aiken Falcons at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Hughes comes in on seven and Aiken on eight.

Hughes will bounce into Tuesday's contest after beating Western Hills, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. Hughes secured a 73-69 W over Western Hills on Saturday. Given the BIG RED's advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 107th, while the Mustangs are ranked 237th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Aiken earned a 67-58 victory over Dunbar last Thursday.

Aiken's win came from a few key players Hughes will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Jaiden Arnold, who went 9 of 17 en route to 25 points. He has been hot for a while, having also posted two or more steals the last 12 times he's played. Another player making a difference was James Burnett, who went 7 of 14 en route to 16 points and five steals.

Hughes' win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 9-3. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.0 points per game. As for Aiken, their victory bumped their record up to 8-0.

Hughes might still be hurting after the 75-55 loss they got from Aiken when the teams last played back in December of 2024. Can Hughes avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.