Basketball Game Preview: Englewood Pirates vs. Middle Park Panthers

The Englewood Pirates will venture away from home to challenge the Middle Park Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Last Thursday, Englewood beat Arrupe Jesuit 49-39.

Soren Singer had a dynamite game for Englewood, dropping a double-double on 15 points and 18 boards. With that strong performance, Singer is now averaging an impressive 8.5 rebounds per game. Another player making a difference was Nathan Owens, who posted eight points in addition to eight boards and four steals.

Englewood smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in three consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, a well-balanced attack led Middle Park over Platte Canyon in every quarter on their way to victory on Saturday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Middle Park blew Platte Canyon out of the water with an 83-26 final score. The Panthers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five games by 25 points or more this season.

Middle Park pushed their record up to 12-4 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 74.7 points per game. As for Englewood, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 8-10 record this season.

Englewood might still be hurting after the 65-42 defeat they got from Middle Park in their previous meeting back in February of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Middle Park's Joey Gagnon, who shot 6-for-11 from long range and almost dropped a double-double on 24 points and nine rebounds. Now that Englewood knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.