Basketball Game Preview: Canon City Tigers vs. Palmer Terrors

Canon City hasn't had much luck against Palmer recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Canon City Tigers will square off against the Palmer Terrors at 7:00 p.m. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Canon City took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They secured a 45-39 W over Widefield.

Meanwhile, Palmer waltzed into their game on Monday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They enjoyed a cozy 66-49 win over the Kadets. Given the Terrors' advantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 74th, while the Kadets are ranked 217th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Canon City better keep an eye on J'Twane Mike. He was instrumental in Palmer's win, going 11-for-18 en route to 25 points in addition to seven rebounds and four steals. Mike's evening made it four games in a row in which he has scored at least 17 points. Another player making a difference was Ayden Yunker, who posted nine points along with five boards and three steals.

Canon City's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 8-14. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.3 points over those games. As for Palmer, their win bumped their record up to 14-8.

Canon City lost to Palmer on the road by a decisive 55-41 margin in their previous matchup back in January. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Palmer's Emmanuel Gonzalez, who went 9-for-17 on his way to 26 points. Now that Canon City knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.