Basketball Game Preview: Paramount Pirates vs. Downey Vikings

The Paramount Pirates will challenge the Downey Vikings at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Paramount is coming into the match on a three-game losing streak.

Last Wednesday, Paramount was beaten by Warren 79-42. While losing is never fun, the Pirates can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 1096th, while the Bears are ranked 392nd).

Meanwhile, it was close, but on Wednesday Downey sidestepped Firebaugh for a 58-55 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Vikings.

Downey's win came from a few key players Paramount will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Earl Santos, who went 6 of 11 on his way to 18 points. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in points. Shane Costello was another key player, going 6 for 9 en route to 12 points.

Downey has been performing well recently as they've won 11 of their last 14 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 17-9 record this season. As for Paramount, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-22.

Paramount suffered a grim 65-40 defeat to Downey in their previous matchup on January 15th. Will Paramount have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.