Basketball Game Preview: King Lions vs. Jesuit Tigers

King hasn't had much luck against Jesuit recently, but that could start to change on Friday. A feisty cat fight will be fought when the King Lions take on the Jesuit Tigers at 7:00 p.m. Given that both suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this match.

King's tournament run continued when they took on Brooks DeBartolo Collegiate last Saturday. King fell 58-50 to Brooks DeBartolo Collegiate. While losing is never fun, the Lions can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 650th, while the Phoenix are ranked 237th).

King's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Rodney Smith, who went 8 for 15 on his way to 19 points and four steals, and Nuri Hakim, who went 6 of 14 on his way to 16 points in addition to five assists and five boards. Smith is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last four games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Malik Hammond, who posted two points in addition to six rebounds and five steals.

Meanwhile, after a string of three wins, Jesuit's good fortune finally ran out on Friday. They took an 82-70 hit to the loss column at the hands of Sickles.

King's loss dropped their record down to 3-9. As for Jesuit, their defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 9-2.

King suffered a grim 67-44 defeat to Jesuit in their previous matchup back in February. Can King avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.