Basketball Game Preview: Hatch Bobcats vs. Keith Bears

The Hatch Bobcats will square off against the Keith Bears at 8:00 p.m. on Friday. Both are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Hatch took a loss when they played away from home on Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Saturday. They blew past Johnson, posting an 83-37 victory. The Bobcats have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven matchups by 21 points or more this season.

Meanwhile, Keith had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 41.3 points) and they went ahead and made it four. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Bobcats 74-42.

Keith's win came from a few key players Hatch will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Miles Hannah, who went 7 of 11 en route to 18 points and seven assists. Those seven assists gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Jarius Sanders, who went 5 for 8 on his way to 10 points and seven rebounds.

Keith smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in four consecutive contests.

Hatch's win was their eighth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-3. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 74.6 points per game. As for Keith, they are on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 10-12 record this season.

Hatch was dealt a bruising 74-42 defeat at the hands of Keith when the teams last played on Friday. Will Hatch 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.