Preview: North Eugene Highlanders vs. Putnam Kingsmen
North Eugene has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. The North Eugene Highlanders and the Putnam Kingsmen will face off at 6:00 p.m. on December 27th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. North Eugene has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.
North Eugene scored the most points they've had all season to find success last Saturday. They put the hurt on Caldera with a sharp 75-51 win. Given North Eugene's advantage in MaxPreps' Oregon basketball rankings (they are ranked sixth, while Caldera is ranked 115th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for India Mohiuddin, who scored 26 points along with seven rebounds and five assists. He has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last five times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Elias McKinnis, who scored 13 points along with six rebounds.
Meanwhile, Putnam unfortunately witnessed the end of their six-game winning streak dating back to last season on Sunday. They took a 66-53 hit to the loss column at the hands of Jefferson. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest points Putnam has scored all season.
North Eugene pushed their record up to 8-1 with that win, which was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season. They've been dominating during the matches in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 20.3 points. As for Putnam, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-1.
North Eugene came up short against Putnam in their previous matchup back in December of 2015, falling 70-58. Can North Eugene avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
