Basketball Game Preview: Lake Wales Highlanders vs. Auburndale Bloodhounds

Lake Wales is 0-10 against Auburndale since December of 2016 but things could change on Thursday. The Lake Wales Highlanders will be playing in front of their home fans against the Auburndale Bloodhounds at 8:00 p.m.

Lake Wales is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against Santa Fe Catholic on Tuesday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Lake Wales took a blow against Santa Fe Catholic, falling 88-54. While losing is never fun, the Highlanders can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 383rd, while the Hawks are ranked 76th).

Sebastian Perez

Steals

01/28/25 vs Santa Fe Catholic	2
01/27/25 @ Ocoee	2
01/24/25 @ Bartow	2
01/21/25 vs IMG Academy Silver	3
01/18/25 vs Tampa Bay Tech	2

The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Sebastian Perez, who posted ten points and five boards. He is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last 17 games he's played. Samauri Wilson was another key player, putting up eight points.

Meanwhile, Auburndale had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 11.3 points) and they went ahead and made it five on Tuesday. They put the hurt on the Blue Devils with a sharp 69-47 win. The Bloodhounds have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won nine contests by 20 points or more this season.

Auburndale is also on a roll lately: they've won 12 of their last 14 games, which provided a nice bump to their 17-5 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.0 points per game. As for Lake Wales, their defeat dropped their record down to 10-12.

Lake Wales and Auburndale were neck-and-neck in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, but Lake Wales came up empty-handed after a 58-57 loss. Will Lake Wales have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.