Preview: Hayden Tigers vs. Vail Mountain Gore Rangers
Hayden is 0-10 against Vail Mountain since February of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Hayden Tigers will look to defend their home court against the Vail Mountain Gore Rangers at 6:00 p.m. Given that the pair suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this game.
Last Thursday, things could have been worse for Hayden, but they could have been a whole lot better as they took a 47-31 loss to Little Snake River. While losing is never fun, Hayden can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 248th in Colorado, while Little Snake River is ranked 38th in Wyoming).
Defeat or not, Hayden got some senior leadership from Adrian Drew and Cale Howard. Drew scored nine points along with six rebounds, while Howard. scored 11 points along with four steals. That was a full 35.5% of Hayden's points, marking the fifth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points.
Meanwhile, Vail Mountain unfortunately witnessed the end of their three-game winning streak on Thursday. They were dealt a 60-26 loss at the hands of Battle Mountain. Vail Mountain was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 27-7.
Hayden has been struggling recently, as they've lost five of their last six matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-7 record this season. As for Vail Mountain, their defeat ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 5-3.
Hayden came up short against Vail Mountain in their previous meeting back in February of 2023, falling 39-34. Will Hayden have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get analysis of the match and other basketball content.
