A feisty cat fight is on tap when the North Park Wildcats face off against the Hayden Tigers at 6:30 p.m. on Friday... Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
North Park is headed into the game out to prove that what happened against Vail Mountain on Saturday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. North Park lost 70-49 to Vail Mountain. The Wildcats were down 52-31 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Chris Reyes, who posted 17 points and three steals. He continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Gavin Pittington was another key player, going 6 for 12 en route to 17 points.
Meanwhile, Hayden came up short against Vail Christian on Friday and fell 63-52.
North Park will have to contain Jace Bene as he made an impact in Hayden's last game. He went 6 of 15 on his way to 15 points along with seven boards and five assists. The dominant performance gave Bene a new career-high in assists. Another player making a difference was Justin Preston, who went 5 for 10 en route to 13 points.
Even though they lost, Hayden smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in ten consecutive matchups.
Hayden has traveled a rocky road recently having lost nine of their last ten contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 2-12 record this season. As for North Park, their loss dropped their record down to 7-6.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: North Park has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 23.1 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Hayden struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31.2 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
North Park didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Hayden in their previous matchup back in January, but they still walked away with a 47-41 victory. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Hayden's Cameron Morrison, who almost dropped a double-double on 18 points and nine rebounds. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will North Park still be able to contain Morrison? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
