Basketball Game Preview: Helix Highlanders vs. University City Centurions

The Helix Highlanders will take on the University City Centurions at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Helix will be strutting in after a win while University City will be coming in after a defeat.

Helix took a loss when they played away from home on Saturday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Monday. They pulled ahead with a 1-0 photo finish over University Laboratory School. The one-point effort marked the Highlanders' lowest-scoring contest of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.

Meanwhile, University City came up short against Sage Creek last Friday and fell 73-63. While the Centurions didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Bobcats 18-13 in the first quarter.

Helix will have to contain Dylan Griffin as he made an impact in University City's last game. He dropped a double-double on 28 points and 12 boards. Griffin is on a roll when it comes to boards, as he's now pulled down eight or more in the last 22 games he's played dating back to last season. Another player making a difference was Jabril Abdullah, who went 5 of 7 on his way to 16 points and five rebounds.

Helix's victory bumped their record up to 5-12. As for University City, their loss dropped their record down to 6-6.

Helix came up short against University City when the teams last played back in November, falling 55-46. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Griffin, who went 8 of 17 on his way to 19 points in addition to eight rebounds and three steals. Now that Helix knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.