Lakeland has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will square off against the Westview Warriors at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Winning is just a little bit easier when you drain eight more threes than your opponent, a fact Lakeland proved on Friday. They took their match at home with ease, bagging a 72-38 win over Eastside.
Lakeland's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Nate Keil, who scored 16 points. The match was Keil's fifth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Kyle Hartsough, who scored 15 points along with three steals.
Meanwhile, Westview waltzed into their game Friday with four straight wins but they left with five. They had just enough and edged Angola out 45-42. Given Westview's advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 52nd, while Angola is ranked 278th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Lakeland pushed their record up to 3-2 with that victory, which was their third straight at home. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 70.7 points per game. As for Westview, their victory bumped their record up to 6-1.
Lakeland and Westview were neck-and-neck in their previous meeting back in December of 2022, but Lakeland came up empty-handed after a 48-47 loss. Can Lakeland avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.