Basketball Preview: Vincent Memorial Scots vs. Imperial Tigers
Vincent Memorial is 2-8 against the Tigers since January of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Vincent Memorial Scots will be staying on the road to face off against the Imperial Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on February 6th. Vincent Memorial has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last four games.
It may have taken overtime to finish the job, but Vincent Memorial ultimately got the result they hoped for on Thursday. They secured a 64-58 W over Calexico. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Santiago Herrera and Pancho Tejada were among the main playmakers for Vincent Memorial as the former dropped a double-double on 17 points and 20 rebounds and the latter scored 17 points along with six assists and five steals. Herrera is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as he's now pulled down ten or more in the last five games he's played. Jacobo Elias was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on ten points and ten rebounds.
Meanwhile, Imperial came tearing into Friday's match with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8 points) and they left with even more momentum. They walked away with a 61-48 win over Brawley.
Imperial's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was David Scariano, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 11 rebounds. Another player making a difference was Marc Vitela, who scored 12 points along with five rebounds.
Vincent Memorial is on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 16-6 record this season. As for Imperial, their win bumped their record up to 11-15.
Tuesday's game is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Vincent Memorial have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 42.5% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Imperial struggles in that department as they've made 40.5% of their threes this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Vincent Memorial came up short against the Tigers when the teams last played back in January, falling 60-52. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Scariano, who dropped a double-double on 28 points and 18 rebounds. Now that Vincent Memorial knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
