Preview: Natomas Nighthawks vs. Florin Panthers
Natomas and Florin are an even 5-5 against one another since December of 2017, but not for long. The Natomas Nighthawks will head out on the road to square off against the Florin Panthers at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Natomas has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 520 points over their last eight matches.
Natomas pushed their score all the way to 74 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They were just a bucket shy of victory and fell 75-74 to Cordova. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their last game on Wednesday (59), Natomas still had to take the loss.
Despite the defeat, Natomas had strong showings from Manno Jenkins, who scored 27 points along with seven assists and six rebounds, and Dereon Jenkins, who went 6 for 9 from beyond the arc en route to 28 points and 3 assists. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Jenkins has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Achilles Terrell, who scored seven points along with six rebounds.
Meanwhile, Florin was able to grind out a solid victory over Valley on Friday, taking the game 43-30. The win was just what Florin needed coming off of a 69-40 loss in their prior game.
Natomas' loss dropped their record down to 12-7. As for Florin, their victory ended a six-game drought at home dating back to last season and bumped them up to 5-7.
Everything came up roses for Natomas against Florin when the teams last played back in February of 2023 as the squad secured a 70-43 win. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Florin's Ezian Joseph, who scored 20 points along with nine rebounds and six blocks. Now that he won't be playing on Wednesday, will it be that much easier for Natomas to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
