Basketball Game Preview: Hilltop Lancers vs. Castle Park Trojans

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Previous Games

01/31/24 - Home	33-57 L
01/12/24 - Away	57-55 W
02/10/23 - Home	64-40 W
01/25/23 - Away	50-43 W
02/07/22 - Away	67-52 W
+ 5 more games

Hilltop is 8-2 against Castle Park since January of 2020 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Hilltop Lancers will be playing at home against the Castle Park Trojans at 6:30 p.m. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this contest.

Hilltop is probably headed into the game with a chip on their shoulder considering Chula Vista just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Wednesday. They were beaten by the Spartans 69-28. The Lancers were down 59-20 at the end of the third quarter, and things only got worse from there.

Despite the loss, Hilltop saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Adrian Alvarez posted 12 points and three steals.

Even though they lost, Hilltop smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive rebounds. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 7.2 offensive boards per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 matches they've averaged 10.1.

Meanwhile, Castle Park scored the most points they've had this season on Wednesday, but it wasn't enough. They were just a bucket shy of victory and fell 65-64 to Sweetwater. The defeat continues a trend for the Trojans in their matchups with the Red Devils: they've now lost five in a row.

Castle Park's loss dropped their record down to 7-12. As for Hilltop, their defeat ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 8-13.

Hilltop might still be hurting after the 57-33 loss they got from Castle Park when the teams last played back in January of 2024. Can Hilltop avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.