Preview: Sammamish RedHawks vs. Renton Red Hawks
Sammamish is 2-8 against Renton since December of 2021 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Sammamish RedHawks will head out on the road to take on the Renton Red Hawks at 8:15 p.m. Sammamish knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with flashy point totals in its past 13 contests -- so hopefully Renton likes a good challenge.
In what's become a running theme this season, Sammamish gave their fans yet another huge win on Wednesday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Lindbergh 80-50 at home.
Sammamish can attribute much of their success to Rakin Showki, who scored 19 points, and Keith Kariuki, who scored 20 points. Showki is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 17 or more in the last five games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Rayan Showki, who scored 12 points.
Meanwhile, Renton came tearing into last Tuesday's matchup with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 25.4 points) and they left with even more momentum. They came out on top against Sammamish by a score of 79-66. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Renton's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Dennis Johnson III, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and ten rebounds, and Daniel Jackson jr., who dropped a double-double on 25 points and 11 rebounds. Johnson III hasn't dropped below 18 points for 11 straight games. Jordan Agosto was another key contributor, scoring 11 points along with five rebounds and three steals.
Sammamish's win was their eighth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 15-6. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 76.1 points per game. As for Renton, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 14-6 record this season.
Friday's matchup will pit two of the most dominant guards against one another: Showki and Johnson III. Showki has been dynamite this season: he has averaged 17.2 points and 1.1 assists. For his part, Johnson III has averaged 22.2 points, 3.2 steals, and 6.2 rebounds.
Sammamish came up short against Renton in their previous matchup last Tuesday, falling 79-66. Can Sammamish avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
