Preview: Marian Catholic vs. Shenandoah Valley Blue Devils
Marian Catholic will look to defend their home court on Thursday against the Shenandoah Valley Blue Devils at 7:30 p.m. Hopefully Marian Catholic focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up ten on Monday.
Last Monday, Marian Catholic was able to grind out a solid win over Wyoming Seminary College Prep, taking the game 56-46. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Marian Catholic.
Marian Catholic had a senior duo take command as Jesse Rodino dropped a double-double on 22 points and 12 rebounds and Jacob Miller scored 17 points along with six rebounds and five assists. Rodino set a new season high mark in blocks with three. Another player making a difference was Alex Thomas, who scored eight points.
Meanwhile, Shenandoah Valley was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Monday as they fell 52-47 to Nativity BVM. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Shenandoah Valley in their matchups with Nativity BVM: they've now lost three in a row.
Despite the loss, Shenandoah Valley had strong showings from Brayden Maksimik, who scored 11 points along with seven rebounds and five assists, and Estuardo Salguero, who scored nine points along with six rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Salguero has scored all season.
Marian Catholic's win bumped their record up to 3-1. As for Shenandoah Valley, their loss dropped their record down to 1-4.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Marian Catholic have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 32.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Shenandoah Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 28.4 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything came up roses for Marian Catholic against Shenandoah Valley in their previous meeting back in January as the squad secured a 67-32 win. With Marian Catholic ahead 41-19 at the half, the match was all but over already.
