Preview: Christian Brothers Falcons vs. Ponderosa Bruins
After two games on the road, Christian Brothers is heading back home. They will take on the Ponderosa Bruins at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Christian Brothers knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with flashy point totals in its past six matchups -- so hopefully Ponderosa likes a good challenge.
Christian Brothers pushed their score all the way to 69 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They took a 86-69 bruising from Capital Christian. While losing is never fun, Christian Brothers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 220th, while Capital Christian is ranked 66th).
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Stephan Hewitt, who scored 19 points along with six rebounds and two steals. Shawn Underwood Jr. was another key contributor, scoring 11 points along with six steals.
Meanwhile, Ponderosa's game on Friday was all tied up 25-25 at the half, but sadly for them it didn't stay that way. They fell to Nevada Union 71-66. Having run the score up that high, both teams might be doing some extra defensive drills very soon.
Defeat or not, Ponderosa got some senior leadership from Keenan Patterson and Marco Moorman. Patterson dropped a double-double on 33 points and 12 rebounds, while Moorman. almost dropped a double-double on 18 points and nine rebounds. Patterson has been hot recently, having posted 24 or more points the last four times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Travis Bays, who scored five points.
Christian Brothers' defeat ended a four-game streak of away wins and brought them to 16-12. As for Ponderosa, they dropped their record down to 13-14 with that loss, which was their third straight at home.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as both teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Christian Brothers hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 64.3 points per game. However, it's not like Ponderosa struggles in that department as they've been averaging 61.6 points per game. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Christian Brothers came out on top in a nail-biter against Ponderosa in their previous matchup back in December of 2023, sneaking past 66-64. Does Christian Brothers have another victory up their sleeve, or will Ponderosa turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
