Basketball Game Preview: Denver North Vikings vs. Hinkley Thunder

The Denver North Vikings will venture away from home to square off against the Hinkley Thunder at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Denver North has four straight victories, Hinkley has 11 straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

Denver North is headed into the game after thoroughly thrashing Littleton: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Denver North blew Littleton out of the water with a 77-45 final score. The contest was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Vikings had established a 25 point advantage.

Meanwhile, it's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 103-24, which was the final score in Hinkley's tilt against Vista PEAK Prep on Saturday. While losing is never fun, the Thunder can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 311th, while the Bison are ranked 69th).

Denver North will have to keep a close watch on Malachi Holden and Josiah Lopez, a pair of players who had a big impact on Hinkley's prior game. Holden posted eight points and eight rebounds, while Lopez put up no points.

Denver North pushed their record up to 5-6 with the win, which was their third straight at home. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 77.3 points per game. As for Hinkley, their loss dropped their record down to 0-8.

Denver North skirted past Hinkley 62-59 in their previous matchup back in January of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for Denver North since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.