Basketball Game Preview: Deer Antlers vs. Lead Hill Tigers

Deer hasn't had much luck against Lead Hill recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Deer Antlers will square off against the Lead Hill Tigers at 4:30 p.m. One thing working in Deer's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last five matches.

Deer will bounce into Friday's game after beating Omaha, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. Deer secured a 64-58 W over Omaha on Tuesday.

Mason Guinnip continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a double-double on 24 points and 18 boards. He has been hot, having posted eight or more rebounds the last eight times he's played. Another player making a difference was Kaden Moore, who posted 12 points and five boards.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Lead Hill). They claimed a resounding 91-56 victory over Alpena. The high-flying offensive performance was a huge turnaround for the Tigers considering their ten-point performance the contest before.

Lead Hill's win came from a few key players Deer will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Danny Evans, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and ten rebounds. Those 18 points gave him a new career-high. Dawson Lively was another key player, going 5 for 9 en route to 15 points in addition to six assists and six steals.

The win made it two in a row for Lead Hill and bumps their season record up to 18-12. As for Deer, their record now sits at 7-9.

Friday's match will pit two of the most dominant forwards against one another: Guinnip and Noah Royce. Guinnip has been dynamite this season: he has averaged 14.9 points and 10.6 boards. For his part, Royce has averaged 16.6 points, 1.9 steals, and 7.1 rebounds.

Deer ended up a good deal behind Lead Hill in their previous matchup back in December of 2024, losing 68-50. Can Deer avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.