Basketball Game Preview: Vasquez Mustangs vs. St. Monica Academy Crusaders

The Vasquez Mustangs and the St. Monica Academy Crusaders will face off at 5:30 p.m. on Friday without much rest having both just played. Vasquez knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past five matches -- so hopefully St. Monica Academy likes a good challenge.

On Thursday, Vasquez strolled past Santa Clarita Christian with points to spare, taking the game 58-41. The Mustangs pushed the score to 52-31 by the end of the third, a deficit the Cardinals cut but never quite recovered from.

Gavin Battey

Rebounds (Career)

01/30/25 @ Santa Clarita Christian	11
01/13/24 vs Golden Valley	9
01/25/24 @ Trinity Classical Academy	8
12/12/24 vs Desert Christian	8
01/28/25 vs Palmdale Academy Charter School	8

Vasquez's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Gavin Battey, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 11 boards. Those 11 rebounds gave Battey a new career-high. Daeron Bankett was another key player, putting up 11 points and five steals.

Vasquez smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in four consecutive games.

Meanwhile, St. Monica Academy unfortunately witnessed the end of their three-game winning streak on Thursday. They fell just short of Faith Baptist by a score of 42-39. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Crusaders have suffered since January 5, 2024.

Vasquez has been performing well recently as they've won 11 of their last 13 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 19-7 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 72.0 points per game. As for St. Monica Academy, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-12.

Vasquez beat St. Monica Academy 74-62 in their previous matchup on January 15th. Will Vasquez repeat their success, or does St. Monica Academy have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.