Basketball Game Preview: Apollo Hawks vs. Valley Vista Monsoon

The Apollo Hawks will venture away from home to square off against the Valley Vista Monsoon at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Valley Vista will be up against a hot Apollo squad: the team just extended their winning streak to four. Apollo was the clear victor by a 55-32 margin over West Point on Tuesday. The Hawks' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.

Meanwhile, Valley Vista waltzed into their match on Friday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They took their game with ease, bagging an 82-22 win over the Stallions. Given the Monsoon's advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked eighth, while the Stallions are ranked 123rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Valley Vista has also been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 14-7 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 26.2 points per game. As for Apollo, the victory got them back to even at 7-7.

Apollo suffered a grim 58-32 defeat to Valley Vista when the teams last played back in January. Can Apollo avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.