Basketball Game Preview: Slaton Tigers vs. Shallowater Mustangs

Slaton hasn't had much luck against Shallowater recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Slaton Tigers will take on the Shallowater Mustangs at 7:30 p.m.

It was a proper cat-fight when Slaton took on Idalou on Tuesday. Slaton lost to Idalou on the road by a 58-42 margin. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as the Tigers came into the matchup with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 210th, while the Wildcats are ranked 512th).

Meanwhile, Shallowater came tearing into Tuesday's contest with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 34.3 points) and they left with even more momentum. They blew past the Chieftans, posting an 86-36 victory. The Mustangs have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten games by 23 points or more this season.

Shallowater's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 12-4. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 90.0 points per game. As for Slaton, their defeat ended a five-game streak of away wins and brought them to 22-5.

Slaton skirted past Shallowater 58-55 in their previous meeting on January 7th. The rematch might be a little tougher for Slaton since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.