Basketball Game Preview: Channel Islands Raiders vs. Royal Highlanders

The Channel Islands Raiders just played yesterday, but they'll still head out to face the Royal Highlanders at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Channel Islands is coming into the game on a three-game losing streak.

Channel Islands came into this matchup off a tough 25-point defeat on Friday. This time they kept things ultra-competitive, but unfortunately the final result was the same. They fell just short of Foothill Tech by a score of 55-53 on Monday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Raiders have suffered against the Dragons since January 29, 2018.

Meanwhile, Royal had to travel to play their first game of the season, but the final result was worth the trip. They blew past Del Sol 78-28 on Monday. The Highlanders pushed the score to 63-20 by the end of the third, a deficit the Jaguars had no chance of recovering from.

Royal's win came from a few key players Channel Islands will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Lucas Markand, who almost dropped a double-double with 21 points and nine boards. What's more, he also posted a 70% field goal percentage, which is the highest he's achieved since back in November of 2024. Another player making a difference was Blake Christiansen, who dropped a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds.

Channel Islands' defeat dropped their record down to 1-3. As for Royal, their win bumped their record up to 1-0.