Basketball Game Preview: Hazelwood Central Hawks vs. Pattonville Pirates

After both having extra time off, the Hazelwood Central Hawks and the Pattonville Pirates will dust off their jerseys to challenge one another at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Hazelwood Central is coming into the contest hot, having won their last four games.

Hazelwood Central is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They breezed by East St. Louis to the tune of 70-43 back in December of 2024. The Hawks have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won three games by 27 points or more this season.

Meanwhile, Pattonville came up short against Cor Jesu Academy last Friday, falling 57-36. While losing is never fun, the Pirates can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Missouri basketball rankings (they are ranked 146th, while the Chargers are ranked 45th).

Hazelwood Central's victory was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-2. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 24.8 points. As for Pattonville, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-3.

Everything came up roses for Hazelwood Central against Pattonville in their previous matchup back in January of 2019, as the squad secured a 63-35 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Hazelwood Central since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.