Basketball Game Preview: Hawkins Hawks vs. Linden-Kildare Tigers

The Hawkins Hawks will take on the Linden-Kildare Tigers at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Hawkins has 14 straight victories, Linden-Kildare has 11 straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

Last Friday, Hawkins strolled past Big Sandy with points to spare, taking the game 76-57. Given the Hawks' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 399th, while the Wildcats are ranked 1121st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Hawkins' win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Eli Smith, who went 8 of 12 en route to 21 points and four steals. The dominant performance gave Smith a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Derek Hollman, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Linden-Kildare challenged Union Grove on Friday. Linden-Kildare had to suffer through a 80-28 loss at the hands of Union Grove.

Hawkins pushed their record up to 26-2 with the victory, which was their 17th straight on the road dating back to last season. As for Linden-Kildare, their loss dropped their record down to 1-21.

Everything came up roses for Hawkins against Linden-Kildare in their previous meeting back in January, as the squad secured a 73-12 win. In that game, Hawkins amassed a halftime lead of 50-2, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Tuesday.