Basketball Game Preview: Leander Lions vs. Hays Hawks

Leander is 1-8 against Hays since January of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Leander Lions will square off against the Hays Hawks at 5:30 p.m.

Leander is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against Liberty Hill on Tuesday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Leander was beaten by Liberty Hill 63-28. While losing is never fun, the Lions can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 549th, while the Panthers are ranked sixth).

Meanwhile, Hays was able to grind out a solid victory over Cedar Park on Tuesday, taking the game 41-34. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Hawks.

This is the second loss in a row for Leander and nudges their season record down to 10-18. As for Hays, their win bumped their record up to 14-12.

Leander might still be hurting after the 60-38 loss they got from Hays when the teams last played back in December of 2024. Can Leander avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.