Warren hasn't had much luck against Downey recently, but that could start to change on Wednesday. The Warren Bears will be playing in front of their home fans against the Downey Vikings at 7:00 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Warren will head into Monday's contest hoping to keep the good times rolling: they proved they can win big on Friday (they won by 51) and on Monday they proved they can win the close ones too. They had just enough and edged Artesia out 57-54. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Bears have posted since December 13, 2023.
Warren's success was spearheaded by the efforts of King Johnson, who posted 20 points, and Jay'Mari Redmond, who had 13 points in addition to six rebounds and four steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Eric Gallardo Jr., who earned six points.
Meanwhile, Downey fought the good fight in their overtime match against Bellflower on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Buccaneers by a score of 64-62. The Vikings' loss signaled the end of their five-game winning streak.
Warren will need focus on slowing down Tyler Harris, one of several Downey players who made an impact when they last played. He dropped a double-double on 17 points and 12 boards. The game was Harris' 18th in a row with at least ten points. Earl Santos was another key player, going 6 for 11 en route to 17 points.
Warren is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a massive bump to their 11-10 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.8 points per game. As for Downey, their defeat was their first in the league, dropping their league record down to 4-1 and their overall record down to 15-8.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Warren has been crashing the rebounds this season, having averaged 27.8 boards per game. However, it's not like Downey struggles in that department as they've been averaging 26 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Warren couldn't quite finish off Downey in their previous matchup on January 3rd and fell 57-55. Will Warren have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other basketball content.
