Preview: North Eugene Highlanders vs. Crater Comets
The North Eugene Highlanders will head out on the road to face off against the Crater Comets at 5:15 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in North Eugene's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last nine matchups.
North Eugene scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Tuesday. They breezed by Springfield at home to the tune of 88-55. North Eugene has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten matchups by 23 points or more this season.
Joey Banry was his usual excellent self, scoring 32 points along with five rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points he has scored all season. India Mohiuddin was another key contributor, almost dropping a double-double on 12 points and nine rebounds.
Meanwhile, Crater had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 12.5 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Tuesday. They took their contest at home with ease, bagging a 65-35 victory over Ashland. Given Crater's advantage in MaxPreps' Oregon basketball rankings (they are ranked 49th, while Ashland is ranked 174th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
North Eugene's victory was their 15th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 18-2. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 70.3 points per game. As for Crater, they are on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last 11 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 16-4 record this season.
North Eugene strolled past Crater in their previous matchup back in January by a score of 83-64. The rematch might be a little tougher for North Eugene since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
