Basketball Game Preview: Tulelake Honkers vs. Hayfork Timberjacks

Tulelake hasn't had much luck against Hayfork recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Tulelake Honkers just played yesterday, but they'll still head out to face the Hayfork Timberjacks at 8:00 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Tulelake proved they can win big on Friday (they won by 41) and on Wednesday they proved they can win the close ones too. They skirted past Big Valley 65-63. The win continues a trend for the Honkers in their matchups with the Cardinals: they've now won three in a row.

Meanwhile, Hayfork came tearing into Tuesday's matchup with six straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 51.3 points) and they left with even more momentum. They breezed past the Cardinals to the tune of 78-35. The Timberjacks pushed the score to 54-27 by the end of the third, a deficit the Cardinals had little chance of recovering from.

Hayfork's win came from a few key players Tulelake will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Levi Cavalli, who dropped a double-double with 23 points and ten steals. The game was his fourth in a row with at least 20 points. Another player making a difference was Evan Pickett, who dropped a double-double with 14 points and ten rebounds.

Hayfork smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in 17 consecutive contests.

Tulelake's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 8-14. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 82.7 points over those games. As for Hayfork, their record now sits at 20-4.

Tulelake lost to Hayfork on the road by a decisive 77-58 margin when the teams last played back in January. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Cavalli, who posted 28 points in addition to eight boards and six steals. Now that Tulelake knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.