Preview: Arcata Tigers vs. Hoopa Valley Warriors
Arcata is 9-1 against Hoopa Valley since January of 2016, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Arcata Tigers are on the road again and plays the Hoopa Valley Warriors at 6:00 p.m. on February 8th. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Winning is just a little bit easier when you outrebound your opponent 22 to 7 on the offensive boards, a fact Arcata proved on Monday. They claimed a resounding 65-37 win over McKinleyville on the road. With Arcata ahead 33-12 at the half, the match was all but over already.
Dawson Vallerga and Luke Lemke were among the main playmakers for Arcata as the former scored 16 points along with two steals and the latter scored 20 points along with seven rebounds and two blocks. Lemke is trending in the right direction, as he's improved his point production for three games straight. The team also got some help courtesy of Jack Luh, who scored nine points along with seven rebounds.
Even though Hoopa Valley has not done well against South Fork recently (they were 0-9 in their previous nine matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. Hoopa Valley came out on top against South Fork by a score of 70-58. With that win, Hoopa Valley brought their scoring average up to 50.8 points per game.
Hoopa Valley can attribute much of their success to Lyle Mckinnon, who scored 21 points. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Mckinnon has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Brian Richards, who scored 15 points.
Arcata has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight matches, which provided a nice bump to their 15-10 record this season. As for Hoopa Valley, the win makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 8-12.
Everything came up roses for Arcata against Hoopa Valley in their previous matchup back in November of 2022 as the squad secured a 84-31 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Arcata since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
