Preview: Roosevelt Roughriders vs. Severance Silver Knights
Roosevelt is 0-5 against Severance since February of 2021 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Roosevelt Roughriders will look to defend their home court against the Severance Silver Knights at 7:00 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Roosevelt has not had quite the year their fans were hoping for to this point, but back-to-back wins may be a sign of good things to come. They put the hurt on Northridge with a sharp 58-36 victory on Thursday.
Roosevelt got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Joseph Palma out in front who scored 14 points along with five steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Palma has scored all season. Seppe Salvatore was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 13 points and 17 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Severance waltzed into their match on Thursday with 11 straight wins but they left with 12. They enjoyed a cozy 78-63 victory over Thompson Valley. Severance'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 Severance to victory, but perhaps none more so than Brady Varney, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 12 rebounds. Varney is on a roll when it comes to blocks, as he's now posted two or more in the last five games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Ryan Ewoniuk, who scored 13 points along with four steals.
Roosevelt's win bumped their record up to 5-16. As for Severance, they pushed their record up to 17-4 with that victory, which was their eighth straight at home.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Roosevelt have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 34.1 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Severance struggles in that department as they've been averaging 34.5 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Roosevelt was dealt a bruising 65-30 defeat at the hands of Severance when the teams last played back in January. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Varney, who scored 13 points along with five rebounds and four blocks. Now that Roosevelt knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
