Gainesville Hurricanes Prepare For The Vanguard Knights

The Gainesville Hurricanes boys basketball team will host a conference game against the Vanguard Knights tonight at 7:30 p.m. This rivalry game will determine who will be the No. 1 seed for the upcoming Class 7-A District 4 tournament. The top seed will host the district tournament and theref0re have home court advantage. These two teams played head-to-head earlier this season in December. The Vanguard Knights came out with a 67-60 overtime win.

Boys Basketball hosts Ocala Vanguard tonight in a huge district game at the Purple Palace. Varsity starts at 7:30 PM. Go Canes!

— GHS Hurricanes (@GHSHurricanes) January 26, 2017

 Gainesville

The Gainesville Hurricanes are currently 18-2 overall, 6-1 in the district, and are ranked No. 4 in the Florida Class 7A rankings according to MaxPreps. The Purple Hurricanes are coming off a 58-38 win against Forest on Tuesday and they haven’t lost a game since their last visit to Vanguard. They will be entering tonight’s game on a 10 game winning streak.

Hurricane head coach Kelly Beckham says the Vanguard team is very talented and experienced. In order to defeat Vanguard tonight, Beckham needs both the offense and the defense to be on the top of their game.

Vanguard

The Vanguard Knights are undefeated in the district with a record of 7-0 and an overall record of 15-5. Unlike the Hurricanes, Vanguard will not be entering tonight’s game on a long winning streak. The Knights have lost 3 out of the past 7 games.

With Vanguard being Gainesville’s only district loss this season, if Gainesville wins tonight’s game, a coin flip will determine the top seed of the district. If Vanguard wins, they will clinch the No. 1 seed in the district.