Preview: Northridge Grizzlies vs. Mountain View Mountain Lions
Northridge is 1-9 against the Mountain Lions since December of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Northridge Grizzlies will head out on the road to face off against the Mountain View Mountain Lions at 7:00 p.m. Northridge is coming into the matchup on a three-game losing streak.
Last Tuesday, Northridge had to suffer through a rough 105-54 loss at the hands of the Golden Eagles. Northridge has not had much luck with the Golden Eagles recently, as the team's come up short the last eight times they've met.
Despite the defeat, Northridge saw an underclassman step up: Drake Walker scored 26 points. That was a full 48.1% of Northridge's points, marking the third time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Lincoln Lyons was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Meanwhile, even though Fort Morgan scored an imposing 57 points on Tuesday, Mountain View still came out on top. Mountain View walked away with a 64-57 victory over the Mustangs. The win was just what Mountain View needed coming off of a 68-44 defeat in their prior game.
Tyson Mares-Benz was a one-man wrecking crew for Mountain View as he dropped a double-double on 17 points and 13 rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Carsen Kissinger, who scored 12 points along with three steals.
Northridge has been struggling recently as they've lost six of their last seven contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-11 record this season. As for Mountain View, their win bumped their record up to 6-9.
Thursday's match will pit two of the most dominant guards against one another: Walker and Dylan Garland. Walker has been dynamite this season: he has averaged 18.5 points, 1.9 blocks, and 2.1 steals. For his part, Garland has averaged 14 points and 2.4 assists.
Northridge came up short against the Mountain Lions in their previous matchup back in February of 2023, falling 73-68. Can Northridge avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
