Looking back at A&M Consolidated's only District 12-5A loss, Tigers' boys basketball coach Rick German doesn't want to take anything away from Harker Heights.

That won't be the case when 22nd-ranked Consol plays host to the Knights in a battle of league co-leaders at 7 p.m. Friday.

Consol (25-4, 9-1) will have a chance to seize sole possession of first place going into the final two weeks of the regular season when the Tigers face Harker Heights (23-6, 9-1) at Tiger Gym. The Knights won the first matchup 60-44 at Harker Heights last month.

"I'm not going to say anything to take away from what they did, because they did a good job," Consol coach Rick German said. "They were a better team that day. We didn't do what we were supposed to do on a lot of different fronts."

Both teams have posted six consecutive wins since that game. Consol set up the showdown with an 87-76 victory at Copperas Cove on Tuesday.

"I'm very pleased with the record and the fact that we're tied with them and we're going to get an opportunity to get that lead back," German said. "I'm not real pleased with the defensive effort we had against Copperas Cove."

Along with the usual emphasis defense, the Tigers were likely to work on ball-handling during Thursday's practice. Consol committed 28 turnovers in the loss at Harker Heights.

"You're not going to win very many games with 28 turnovers," German said. "We didn't handle their pressure very well."

Consol led midway through the third quarter before Harker Heights pulled away. The Knights put together a surge with the help of their fans, and German is happy to have the home-court advantage Friday.

The girls teams from Consol and Harker Heights also will compete for the 12-5A lead Friday when the Lady Tigers visit the eighth-ranked Lady Knights. With two games left in league play, Consol (24-8, 10-2) is one game behind Harker Height (31-1, 11-1).

In other local action, Bryan's boys and girls will play against Belton. The Viking boys (4-19, 1-9) will host the Tigers (5-22, 1-9), while Bryan's girls (2-25, 0-12) will play at Belton (7-22, 1-11).

Rudder's teams will return from Tuesday byes to face Manor in 16-4A action. The boys will host the Mustangs while Rudder's 15th-ranked girls will attempt to hold on to the league lead with a visit to Manor.