Basketball Game Preview: Lake Country Lutheran Lightning vs. Hartford Orioles

The Lake Country Lutheran Lightning will wrap up 2024 with a road trip to face off against the Hartford Orioles at 3:00 p.m. on Friday. Lake Country Lutheran knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past seven contests -- so hopefully Hartford likes a good challenge.

Last Saturday, Lake Country Lutheran got the win against Edgewood by a conclusive 84-64. The Lightning have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five games by 20 points or more this season.

Jacob Burow was his usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 18 points and ten boards. He has been hot, having also posted two or more steals the last six times he's played. Another player making a difference was Jack Poellot, who went 6 of 11 on his way to 13 points and five rebounds.

Lake Country Lutheran smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in 15 consecutive matchups dating back to last season.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Hartford). They breezed by Cudahy to the tune of 82-34 on Saturday. Given the Orioles' advantage in MaxPreps' Wisconsin basketball rankings (they are ranked 157th, while the Packers are ranked 443rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Hartford is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 5-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.0 points per game. As for Lake Country Lutheran, their victory bumped their record up to 6-1.