Basketball Game Preview: Hamilton Heights Huskies vs. Lapel Bulldogs

Hamilton Heights and Lapel are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2015, but not for long. The two teams will meet in a canine-themed contest at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Lapel is hoping to do what Frankfort couldn't on Saturday: put an end to Hamilton Heights' winning streak, which now stands at three games. Hamilton Heights simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Frankfort 76-30. Given the Huskies' advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 149th, while the Hot Dogs are ranked 390th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Rees Knapp was nothing short of spectacular: he went 7 of 8 from beyond the arc on his way to 28 points and six rebounds. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Tyler Champion, who posted four points in addition to five assists and five steals.

Hamilton Heights was working as a unit and finished the game with 22 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Frankfort only racked up eight assists.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Lapel). They breezed by Anderson Prep Academy to the tune of 95-55 on Monday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Bulldogs.

Hamilton Heights' win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-5. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 66.3 points per game. As for Lapel, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 6-4 record this season.

Things could have been worse for Hamilton Heights, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 77-63 loss to Lapel in their previous meeting back in January of 2024. Can Hamilton Heights avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.