Basketball Game Preview: Hamilton Braves vs. Portola Tigers

The Hamilton Braves will head out to challenge the Portola Tigers at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Hamilton will bounce into Thursday's contest after beating Williams, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. Everything went Hamilton's way against Williams on Tuesday as Hamilton made off with a 54-28 victory. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win the Braves have posted since January 23, 2024.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Hamilton to victory, but perhaps none more so than Kayden Strong, who posted 16 points and eight rebounds. Strong has been hot, having also posted two or more steals the last six times he's played. Caden Stickney was another key player, putting up six points in addition to 11 boards and seven assists.

Meanwhile, Portola waltzed into their game on Tuesday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They came out on top against the Wolverines by a score of 67-59.

The match pitted two dominant centers against one another in Connor Sheridan and Skyler Long. Sheridan had a great game and dropped a double-double on 24 points and 24 rebounds. Meanwhile, Long was balling out in the loss, dropping a double-double on 25 points and 13 boards.

Hamilton's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-8. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.8 points per game. As for Portola, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 12-6 record this season.

Hamilton was able to grind out a solid win over Portola in their previous matchup back in February of 2022, winning 73-62. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Portola's Enrique Flores, who put up 15 points along with eight assists and eight rebounds. Now that he won't be playing on Thursday, will it be easier for Hamilton to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.