Basketball Game Preview: Arcata Tigers vs. McKinleyville Panthers

A feisty cat fight is on tap when the Arcata Tigers duke it out with the McKinleyville Panthers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday... Each of these teams will be battling to keep a three-game winning streak alive.

Last Friday, everything went Arcata's way against Fortuna as Arcata made off with a 66-42 victory. The Tigers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six matches by 22 points or more this season.

Meanwhile, McKinleyville didn't have too much trouble with Fortuna on Wednesday as they won 58-40. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 258th, while the Huskies are ranked 661st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

McKinleyville pushed their record up to 14-6 with the win, which was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.5 points per game. As for Arcata, they are on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 13-5 record this season.

Things could have been worse for Arcata, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 61-45 loss to McKinleyville when the teams last played back in December of 2024. Will Arcata have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other basketball content.