Basketball Game Preview: Saint Francis Lancers vs. Sacred Heart Prep Gators

Having just played yesterday, the Saint Francis Lancers will jump right back in to play the Sacred Heart Prep Gators at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Saint Francis has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the match with four straight losses, while Sacred Heart Prep will come in with three straight wins.

Saint Francis is headed into the contest out to prove that what happened against Archbishop Riordan on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Saint Francis was outmatched by Archbishop Riordan and fell 75-37. While losing is never fun, the Lancers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 531st, while the Crusaders are ranked fifth).

Meanwhile, Sacred Heart Prep's game on Friday was all tied up 23-23 at the half, but luckily for them it didn't stay that way. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Menlo School 54-52.

Saint Francis better keep an eye on Alex Straser. He was instrumental in Sacred Heart Prep's win, putting up 16 points. The game was Straser's fourth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Zack Beals, who posted 12 points.

Sacred Heart Prep is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 6-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.2 points per game. As for Saint Francis, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-9.

Saint Francis and Sacred Heart Prep were neck-and-neck in their previous matchup back in December of 2023, but Saint Francis came up empty-handed after a 70-69 loss. Can Saint Francis avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.