Basketball Game Preview: St. Francis Golden Knights vs. Crespi Celts

The St. Francis Golden Knights will square off against the Crespi Celts at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

St. Francis is headed into Saturday's match hungry for a win as their strong season has now been derailed by two straight defeats. They came up short against Notre Dame (SO) on Thursday, falling 79-58. While losing is never fun, the Golden Knights can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 83rd, while the Knights are ranked eighth).

Meanwhile, Crespi unfortunately witnessed the end of their eight-game winning streak on Thursday. They took a 67-56 hit to the loss column at the hands of Harvard-Westlake. The Celts were down 57-31 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from.

Despite the loss, Crespi saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Isaiah Barnes went 5 of 12 en route to 14 points and three steals. Another player making a difference was Kingston Smith, who posted eight points.

Crespi's defeat dropped their record down to 15-5. As for St. Francis, their loss dropped their record down to 13-6.

St. Francis lost to Crespi at home by a decisive 68-54 margin in their previous matchup back in January of 2024. Will St. Francis have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.