Basketball Game Preview: Fullerton Indians vs. Orange Panthers

The Fullerton Indians will venture away from home to face off against the Orange Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Fullerton has eight straight victories, Orange has 14 straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

Fullerton will head into Friday's matchup hoping to keep the good times rolling: they had to skate by with only a three-point margin when they last took the court, which might have inspired the 26-point drubbing they dealt Santa Fe on Friday. Fullerton put the hurt on Santa Fe with a sharp 73-47 win. Given the Indians' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 425th, while the Chiefs are ranked 1034th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Fullerton's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jordan Myvett led the charge by going 8 of 15 en route to 20 points and five rebounds. Another player making a difference was Jad Mustafa, who went 6 of 12 on his way to 18 points and six rebounds.

Fullerton smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in seven consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Orange opened the new year with a less-than-successful 54-44 defeat to Estancia.

Fullerton will need focus on slowing down Mark Hernandez-Chino, one of several Orange players who made an impact when they last played. He posted 15 points. Those 15 points gave Hernandez-Chino a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Vic Ceja, who put up 11 points.

Orange's loss dropped their record down to 1-17. As for Fullerton, their victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-7.