Basketball Game Preview: Hilliard Red Flashes vs. Lafayette Hornets

The Hilliard Red Flashes will face off against the Lafayette Hornets on Wednesday. Hilliard is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 68.2 points per game this season.

Hilliard is probably headed into the match with a chip on their shoulder considering Bolles just ended the team's four-game winning streak on Thursday. They fell 54-41 to the Bulldogs. The contest marked the Red Flashes' lowest-scoring game so far this season.

The match pitted two dominant guards against one another in Cj Hall and Kaden Ferguson. Ferguson had a solid game and went 5 for 12 on his way to 13 points. Meanwhile, Hall did his best for the losing side, dropping a double-double on ten points and ten boards.

Meanwhile, it's playoff time, and Lafayette had no trouble coming through when it counted. They claimed a resounding 68-36 win over Hamilton County. The high-flying offensive performance was a huge turnaround for the Hornets considering their 26-point performance the matchup before.

Hilliard better focus on containing Jordan Murphy and Tywan Williamson as the pair were huge in Lafayette's win. Murphy dropped a double-double on 15 points and ten rebounds, while Williamson went 8 of 18 en route to 17 points and five boards. The dominant performance gave Murphy a new career-high in rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Jadarius McQuay, who almost dropped a double-double on nine points and 13 boards.

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

Lafayette now has a winning record of 11-10. As for Hilliard, their defeat ended an eight-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 12-5.

This contest is shaping up to be a blowout: Hilliard just can't miss this season, having drained 48.5% of their shots per game. It's a different story for Lafayette, though, as they've only made 31.9% of their field goals this season. Given Hilliard's sizable advantage in that area, Lafayette will need to find a way to close that gap.

Hilliard took their victory against Lafayette in their previous meeting back in February of 2024 by a conclusive 76-56. Will Hilliard repeat their success, or does Lafayette have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.