Basketball Game Preview: Middle Park Panthers vs. Arrupe Jesuit Generals

The Middle Park Panthers will square off against the Arrupe Jesuit Generals at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Middle Park has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.

Middle Park is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They took their contest on Monday with ease, bagging a 64-13 victory over Englewood. The Panthers pushed the score to 49-13 by the end of the third, a deficit the Pirates had no chance of recovering from.

Blaire Hester

Field Goal Percentage (Career)

02/03/25 vs Englewood	73%
02/01/25 vs Platte Canyon	59%
01/17/25 vs Moffat County	50%
02/05/24 @ KIPP Denver Collegiate	50%
12/12/23 vs Lake County	50%

Middle Park got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Blaire Hester out in front who went 8 for 11 en route to 19 points in addition to seven rebounds and six steals. The dominant performance also gave Hester a new career-high in shooting accuracy (73%). Another player making a difference was Aubree Hanson, who went 8 of 19 to rack up 17 points and seven boards.

Middle Park smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 27 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive boards they've managed all season.

Meanwhile, Arrupe Jesuit was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Friday as they fell 32-27 to Addenbrooke Classical Academy. The Generals have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Middle Park is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games, which provided a nice bump to their 8-9 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 20.2 points over those games. As for Arrupe Jesuit, they now also have a losing record at 8-9.

Middle Park couldn't quite finish off Arrupe Jesuit when the teams last played back in February of 2024 and fell 35-32. Can Middle Park avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.