Basketball Game Preview: Las Plumas Thunderbirds vs. Live Oak Lions

The Las Plumas Thunderbirds will head out to take on the Live Oak Lions at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Las Plumas knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past four matchups -- so hopefully Live Oak likes a good challenge.

Las Plumas is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They claimed a resounding 82-55 victory over Gridley. The Thunderbirds pushed the score to 68-40 by the end of the third, a deficit the Bulldogs cut but never quite recovered from.

Las Plumas' win on Tuesday was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from T.J. Thompson, who went 6 of 8 from beyond the arc en route to 22 points along with eight assists and eight rebounds. Those eight assists gave Thompson a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Casmir Jones, who went 8 for 13 on his way to 22 points and five boards.

Thompson wasn't the only one working in the assists department: Las Plumas was working as a unit and finished the game with 23 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

Meanwhile, Live Oak ended up a good deal behind Orland on Tuesday and lost 69-53. The Lions have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Las Plumas is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven contests, which provided a nice bump to their 14-5 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.9 points per game. As for Live Oak, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-6.

Everything came up roses for Las Plumas against Live Oak in their previous meeting back in December of 2023, as the team secured a 73-38 win. In that game, Las Plumas amassed a halftime lead of 51-18, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.