Basketball Game Preview: Horizon Huskies vs. Chaparral Firebirds

The Horizon Huskies will head out to take on the Chaparral Firebirds at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Horizon has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.

In Thursday's Canine Competition, Horizon prevailed. They snuck past Desert Mountain with a 73-69 win on Thursday.

Ryan Milner was a one-man wrecking crew for Horizon as he went 7 for 10 en route to 19 points and three steals. That's the most points Milner has posted since back in November of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Drew Mercure, who went 6 of 9 on his way to 14 points and eight boards.

Horizon smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in three consecutive matchups.

Meanwhile, Chaparral was not able to break out of their rough patch on Wednesday as the team picked up their fifth straight loss. They took a hard 90-76 fall against Mountain Pointe. While losing is never fun, the Firebirds can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 148th, while the Pride are ranked 41st).

Horizon is on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last 12 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 13-9 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 64.8 points per game. As for Chaparral, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-15.

Horizon didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Chaparral in their previous meeting back in December of 2024, but they still walked away with a 74-70 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Horizon since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.