Basketball Game Preview: Red Bluff Spartans vs. Corning Cardinals

The Red Bluff Spartans will face off against the Corning Cardinals at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Last Friday, Red Bluff beat Shasta 58-46. The Spartans have beaten the Wolves the last three times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Wolves has come to flipping the script.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Corning). They took their match on Friday with ease, bagging a 68-31 victory over Live Oak. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest win of the season.

Red Bluff better keep an eye on Jeff Mendros. He was instrumental in Corning's win, dropping a double-double with 15 points and 11 assists. The contest was Mendros' seventh in a row with at least 15 points. Another player making a difference was Brody Martinovich, who went 5-for-11 on his way to 13 points and three steals.

Corning smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive boards they've posted since back in December of 2024.

Red Bluff's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 16-11. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 58.3 points over those games. As for Corning, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 14-12 record this season.

Red Bluff strolled past Corning in their previous matchup back in December of 2024 by a score of 58-41. Will Red Bluff repeat their success, or does Corning have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.