Basketball Game Preview: Animo Leadership Aztec Eagles vs. Hawthorne Cougars

The Animo Leadership Aztec Eagles will head out on the road to take on the Hawthorne Cougars at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Animo Leadership is coming into the matchup on a three-game losing streak.

Animo Leadership lost 74-50 to Ambassador on Tuesday. While losing is never fun, the Aztec Eagles can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 964th, while the Lions are ranked 384th).

Meanwhile, Hawthorne played a tough game on Wednesday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They were outmatched by Lawndale and fell 99-54. The Cougars were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 52-25.

Animo Leadership's defeat dropped their record down to 6-6. As for Hawthorne, they suffered their first road loss, dropping their record down to 3-3.

Animo Leadership suffered a grim 51-31 defeat to Hawthorne in their previous meeting back in January. That contest was all but decided by halftime, at which point Animo Leadership was down 40-9.