Preview: Englewood Pirates vs. Bennett Tigers
Englewood has enjoyed the comforts of home their last three games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will take on the Bennett Tigers at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Hopefully Englewood focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 30 on Thursday.
Englewood suffered their biggest defeat since November 30, 2023 on Thursday. They took a serious blow against DSST: Montview, falling 75-46. While losing is never fun, Englewood can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 244th, while DSST: Montview is ranked 36th).
Englewood's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Soren Singer, who scored 26 points along with seven rebounds and six steals, and Dominic Dever who scored 13 points along with three steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Singer has scored all season.
Meanwhile, Bennett entered their tilt with Lake County with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. Bennett blew past Lake County 71-47. Bennett's offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Bennett to victory, but perhaps none more so than Owen Stiers, who scored 20 points along with five assists and five steals. Stiers has been hot recently, having posted 15 or more points the last three times he's played. Another player making a difference was Jayden Ivory, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 15 rebounds.
Englewood's defeat dropped their record down to 2-9. As for Bennett, they now have a winning record of 4-3.
Thursday's game is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Englewood have been dynamite from deep this season, having only nailed 34.2% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Bennett struggles in that department as they've nailed 43.4% of their threes per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Englewood didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Bennett in their previous matchup back in January of 2023, but they still walked away with a 62-57 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Englewood since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
