Basketball Game Preview: Hoover Patriots vs. Bullard Knights

Hoover is 1-9 against Bullard since December of 2014 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Hoover Patriots will host the Bullard Knights at 6:30 p.m. Hoover is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 57.1 points per game this season.

Hoover is headed into Friday's match looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their seventh straight game on Wednesday. They were outmatched by San Joaquin Memorial and fell 79-38. While losing is never fun, the Patriots can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 456th, while the Panthers are ranked 44th).

The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Pamir Olivier, who posted ten points. Another player making a difference was Michael Harris, who earned seven points.

Meanwhile, Bullard posted their closest victory since December 19, 2024 on Wednesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Sunnyside, sneaking past 65-62.

Bullard is also on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 16-10 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 70.6 points per game. As for Hoover, their loss dropped their record down to 10-13.

Hoover was dealt a bruising 79-45 defeat at the hands of Bullard when the teams last played last Wednesday. That game was all but decided by halftime, at which point Hoover was down 38-18.