Basketball Game Preview: San Joaquin Memorial Panthers vs. St. Joseph Knights

The San Joaquin Memorial Panthers will challenge the St. Joseph Knights at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. San Joaquin Memorial knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past 17 matches -- so hopefully St. Joseph likes a good challenge.

San Joaquin Memorial is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They enjoyed a cozy 81-66 win over Clovis West. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 49th, while the Golden Eagles are ranked 130th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, St. Joseph came tearing into Wednesday's contest with 17 straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 34.2 points), and they left with even more momentum. They blew past Bullard 89-49. St. Joseph pushed the score to 71-40 by the end of the third, a deficit Bullard had no chance of recovering from.

San Joaquin Memorial better keep an eye on Tounde Yessoufou. He was instrumental in St. Joseph's win, dropping a double-double with 34 points and 16 rebounds. Yessoufou's evening made it 27 games in a row in which he has scored at least 15 points. Malcolm Price was another key player, going 8-for-11 on his way to 19 points.

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

San Joaquin Memorial is on a roll lately: they've won 13 of their last 14 matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 25-5 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 77.2 points over those games. St. Joseph's victory was their 20th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 29-1.

San Joaquin Memorial couldn't quite finish off St. Joseph in their previous matchup back in February of 2023 and fell 65-63. Can San Joaquin Memorial avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.