Two dominant guards in Aharon Young and Kai Bradford are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. A feisty cat fight is on tap when the Kennedy Cougars face off against the McClatchy Lions at 7:30 p.m. on Friday... Kennedy has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.
Last Wednesday, Kennedy came up short against Antelope and fell 81-74. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game on Friday (66), the Cougars still had to take the loss.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Young, who posted 15 points. Another player making a difference was Jordan Lawrence, who scored 15 points.
Meanwhile, McClatchy suffered their biggest defeat since December 6, 2024 on Wednesday. They lost 78-55 to Destiny Christian Academy. While losing is never fun, McClatchy can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 372nd, while Destiny Christian Academy is ranked 101st).
Kennedy will have to contain Nehemiah Miller as he made an impact in McClatchy's last game. He had 21 points and six boards. The dominant performance gave Miller a new career-high in points. Xavier Payne was another key player, putting up seven points.
Kennedy has traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 11-7 record this season. As for McClatchy, they dropped their record down to 11-7 with the loss, which was their third straight at home.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the two teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Kennedy hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 62.8 points per game. However, it's not like McClatchy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 67.6 points. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Kennedy came out on top in a nail-biter against McClatchy in their previous meeting on January 6th, sneaking past 65-63. The rematch might be a little tougher for Kennedy since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
