The Big Sandy Wildcats will look to defend their home court on Friday against the Hawkins Hawks at 7:30 p.m. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Big Sandy has struggled recently with three defeats in a row, while Hawkins will arrive with 18 straight victories.
Big Sandy pushed their score all the way to 62 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell just short of Harleton by a score of 65-62. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their last game last Tuesday (60), Big Sandy still had to take the loss.
Despite their loss, Big Sandy saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Malijah Francis, who scored 17 points along with eight assists and seven rebounds, was perhaps the best of all. Francis has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last four times he's played. Trey Coleman was another key contributor, scoring 16 points along with three blocks and two steals.
Meanwhile, Hawkins put the finishing touches on their 13th blowout victory of the season on Thursday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Ore City 75-17 at home. Given Hawkins' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 348th, while Ore City is ranked 1557th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Hawkins' victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Larry Moungle, who scored 20 points along with seven steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Moungle has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Derek Hollman, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and ten rebounds.
Big Sandy has been struggling recently, as they've lost ten of their last 12 matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-12 record this season. As for Hawkins, their victory was their seventh straight at home, which pushed their record up to 22-1.
Keep an eye on the arc in Friday's matchup: Big Sandy have made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having only averaged 7.4 threes per game. It's a different story for Hawkins, though, as they've been averaging only 5.6 threes per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Big Sandy ended up a good deal behind Hawkins in their previous meeting back in February of 2023, losing 66-47. Can Big Sandy avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
