Glendale hasn't had much luck against Marcos de Niza recently, but that could start to change on Monday. Both will compete for holiday cheer at 7:00 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
It was a proper cat-fight when Glendale took on South Mountain on Friday. Glendale took a 68-62 hit to the loss column at the hands of South Mountain. While the Cardinals didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Jaguars 20-9 in the first quarter.
| 12/13/24 @ South Mountain | 22 |
| 11/22/24 vs Lake Havasu | 14 |
| 12/04/24 @ Metro Tech | 11 |
| 11/20/24 vs Alhambra | 11 |
Defeat or not, Glendale got some senior leadership from Michael Palomino and Anthony Duran. Palomino dropped a double-double on 22 points and 12 boards, while Duran posted 14 points along with five assists and five steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Palomino has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Simon Sinohui, who put up 15 points in addition to five boards and three steals.
Even though they lost, Glendale smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. That's the most offensive boards they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Marcos de Niza unfortunately witnessed the end of their seven-game winning streak on Thursday. They were just a bucket shy of victory and fell 57-56 to Cortez. The match marked the Padres' lowest-scoring game so far this season.
Glendale will have to contain James Steward as he made an impact in Marcos de Niza's last game. He dropped a double-double on 18 points and 20 boards. Steward has been hot for a while, having posted 11 or more rebounds the last 11 times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Jeidarion Richard, who went 6 of 12 on his way to 14 points.
Glendale's loss dropped their record down to 2-2. As for Marcos de Niza, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-2.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as both are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Glendale hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 56.8 points per game. However, it's not like Marcos de Niza struggles in that department as they've been averaging 66.9 points. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Glendale was taken down by Marcos de Niza 80-42 in their previous meeting back in December of 2019. Can Glendale avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
