Preview: Harker Eagles vs. Hill Falcons
Harker is 8-1 against Hill since December of 2014, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Harker Eagles will head out on the road to face off against the Hill Falcons at 7:00 p.m. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Harker has struggled recently with four losses in a row, while Hill will arrive with six straight wins.
Last Thursday, it was a hard-fought matchup, but Harker had to settle for a 54-51 loss against Santa Clara.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the most dominant came from Rahul Yalla, who scored 14 points along with six rebounds and four steals. Those 14 points set a new season-high mark for him. The team also got some help courtesy of Kevin Zhang, who scored 12 points along with eight rebounds.
Even though they lost, Harker were smashing the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Hill has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four games by 22 points or more this season. They put the hurt on San Jose with a sharp 74-52 victory on Friday. Given Hill's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 432nd, while San Jose is ranked 1102nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Harker's loss was their seventh straight on the road dating back to last season, which bumped their record down to 4-6. As for Hill, their victory bumped their record up to 8-2.
Things could have been worse for Harker, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 79-64 loss to Hill in their previous matchup back in November. Can Harker avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
