Basketball Game Preview: Imperial Tigers vs. Central Spartans

Imperial is 1-9 against Central since January of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Imperial Tigers will welcome the Central Spartans at 7:00 p.m. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.

Imperial is headed into Tuesday's match looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their third straight game on Friday. They were five points away from ending the streak, but they lost a 68-63 heartbreaker at the hands of Vincent Memorial.

Meanwhile, Central was just a bucket shy of victory on Friday and fell 47-46 to Calexico. While the Spartans didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Bulldogs 22-15 in the first quarter.

Imperial will have to contain Daimaggio Wyatt as he made an impact in Central's last game. He dropped a double-double on 18 points and 13 boards. Wyatt has become a key player for Central: the team is 9-3 when he posts at least eight rebounds, but 2-5 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of James Tovar, who posted 13 points and seven boards.

Central's loss was their first in the league, dropping their league record down to 2-1 and their overall record down to 11-8. As for Imperial, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-10.

Imperial beat Central 66-53 in their previous matchup back in February of 2024. Will Imperial repeat their success, or does Central have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.