The Regis Groff Fusion will be taking part in a tournament against the Arrupe Jesuit Generals at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Regis Groff will head into Tuesday's matchup on the come-up: they were handed a heart-breaking three-point loss in their last contest, but they sure didn't let that happen against DMLK on Tuesday. Regis Groff was the clear victor by a 64-39 margin over DMLK. The victory was a breath of fresh air for the Fusion as it put an end to their three-game losing streak.
Regis Groff's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jamal Bailly led the charge by going 8 for 18 on his way to 19 points in addition to six rebounds and three steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Davonte Robinson, who went 8 for 19 on his way to 19 points in addition to five rebounds and three steals.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Arrupe Jesuit). They claimed a resounding 88-49 win over Ascent Classical Academy. While the Generals didn't have the best season last year (they finished 9-14), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Arrupe Jesuit's win came from a few key players Regis Groff will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Manuel Loya, who went 10 of 17 on his way to 24 points and four steals. The game was his third in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Louie Garcia, who went 7 of 9 on his way to 18 points and three steals.
Arrupe Jesuit smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in nine consecutive contests dating back to last season.
Regis Groff pushed their record up to 3-4 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 35.7 points. As for Arrupe Jesuit, their record is now 4-0.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as Regis Groff and Arrupe Jesuit are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Regis Groff hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 55.4 points per game. However, it's not like Arrupe Jesuit struggles in that department as they've been averaging 72.8 points. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Regis Groff suffered a grim 76-53 defeat to Arrupe Jesuit in their previous meeting back in December of 2019. Thankfully for Regis Groff, Roberto Rivera Navarro (who went 7 of 12 on his way to 23 points and three steals) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
