Basketball Game Preview: Clopton Hawks vs. Van-Far Indians

Clopton and Van-Far are an even 5-5 against one another since February of 2020, but not for long. The Clopton Hawks will look to defend their home court on Friday against the Van-Far Indians at 6:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Clopton is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They breezed past Paris/Faith Walk Academy to the tune of 74-39.

Meanwhile, Van-Far entered their tilt with Veritas Christian Academy on Wednesday with two consecutive wins , and they'll enter their next game with three. Everything went their way against the Eagles as they made off with a 73-51 victory.

Clopton better focus on containing Evan Utterback and Pacey Reading as the pair were huge in Van-Far's win. Utterback went 7-for-13 en route to 22 points, while Reading dropped a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Reading's big performance that evening made it seven games in a row in which he has scored at least 16 points. Another player making a difference was Gaven Gaston, who almost dropped a double-double with ten points and nine assists.

Van-Far smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in six consecutive contests.

Clopton is on a roll lately: they've won 14 of their last 17 matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 18-7 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 70.0 points over those games. Van-Far's win bumped their record up to 19-9.

Clopton beat Van-Far 63-52 in their previous meeting two weeks ago. Does Clopton have another victory up their sleeve, or will Van-Far turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.