Basketball Game Preview: Hillcrest Knights vs. Columbia Wildcats

The Hillcrest Knights will face off against the Columbia Wildcats at 12:00 p.m. on Thursday. Hillcrest knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past 13 matchups -- so hopefully Columbia likes a good challenge.

Last Thursday, Hillcrest was able to grind out a solid win over Bonneville, taking the game 56-47.

Titan Larsen

Rebounds

02/27/25 vs Bonneville	12
02/20/25 vs Shelley	2
02/14/25 vs Rigby	8
02/12/25 vs Shelley	5
02/07/25 @ Idaho Falls	6
+ 31 more games

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Hillcrest to victory, but perhaps none more so than Titan Larsen, who dropped a double-double with 15 points and 12 boards. That's the most rebounds Larsen has posted since back in December of 2023. The team also got some help courtesy of Gage Blakeslee, who earned ten points and six assists.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Columbia). They were the clear victor by a 77-51 margin over Skyview on Saturday. The Wildcats have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight games by 20 points or more this season.

Columbia's win came from a few key players Hillcrest will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Blake Hansen, who shot 5-for-9 from beyond the arc and dropped a double-double with 19 points and 16 boards. He has become a key player for Columbia: the team is 10-4 when he posts at least ten rebounds, but 4-8 otherwise. Easton Lott was another key player, going 7-for-12 on his way to 14 points along with six boards and five steals.

Hillcrest is on a roll lately: they've won 12 of their last 13 contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 18-5 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 67.4 points over those games. The victory (which was Columbia's third in a row) raised their record to 14-12.