The Juan Diego Catholic Soaring Eagle will take on the West Panthers in a holiday battle at at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Juan Diego Catholic is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 62 points per game this season.
Juan Diego Catholic easily dispatched Summit Academy last Tuesday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. Juan Diego Catholic fell just short of Judge Memorial Catholic by a score of 56-53 on Friday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Soaring Eagle have suffered since January 30th.
Despite their loss, Juan Diego Catholic saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Hunter Chamberlain, who went 6 of 12 on his way to 16 points and eight rebounds, was perhaps the best of all. Chamberlain is trending in the right direction considering he's improved his point production for five straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Stockton Young, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and ten rebounds.
Even though they lost, Juan Diego Catholic smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive boards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Judge Memorial Catholic only pulled down five offensive rebounds.
Meanwhile, West hadn't done well against Roy recently (they were 0-4 in their previous four matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Wednesday. West secured a 67-62 W over Roy.
West's win came from a few key players Juan Diego Catholic will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Phillip Ladua, who almost dropped a double-double on 23 points and nine rebounds. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 15.4 points per game. Elijah Albertson was another key player, putting up 11 points along with seven assists and six steals.
West now has a winning record of 4-3. As for Juan Diego Catholic, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-2.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as both are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Juan Diego Catholic hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 62 points per game. However, it's not like West struggles in that department as they've been averaging 63.9 points. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Everything went Juan Diego Catholic's way against West in their previous matchup back in December of 2020, as Juan Diego Catholic made off with a 57-37 win. Does Juan Diego Catholic have another victory up their sleeve, or will West turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
