Basketball Game Preview: Salem Hills Skyhawks vs. Lehi Pioneers

The Salem Hills Skyhawks will face off against the Lehi Pioneers at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a three-game winning streak alive.

Last Tuesday, Salem Hills earned a 64-53 victory over West. That's two games straight that the Skyhawks have won by exactly 11 points.

Salem Hills relied on the efforts of Elijah Gasser, who went 6 for 8 on his way to 17 points and six rebounds, and Jacoby Gustin, who went 7 of 9 on his way to 16 points and five rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Gustin a new career-high in assists (two). Grant Hardy was another key player, putting up nine points along with five assists and three steals.

Meanwhile, Lehi strolled past Murray with points to spare on Saturday, taking the game 81-64.

Lehi's win came from a few key players Salem Hills will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Ashton Shewell, who posted 24 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Saxon Young, who had 16 points and seven assists.

Lehi was working as a unit and finished the game with 20 assists. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their assist total in three consecutive contests.

Lehi has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five games, which provided a nice bump to their 7-4 record this season. As for Salem Hills, the win got them back to even at 6-6.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Salem Hills has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 27.2 boards per game. However, it's not like Lehi struggles in that department as they've been averaging 29.6 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Salem Hills lost to Lehi at home by a decisive 86-68 margin in their previous matchup back in November of 2023. Thankfully for Salem Hills, Cooper Lewis (who went 10 of 22 on his way to 29 points and seven boards) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.