Preview: Mt. Carmel Sundevils vs. Escondido Cougars
The Mt. Carmel Sundevils will be playing in front of their home fans against the Escondido Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Mt. Carmel is coming into the contest hot, having won their last six games.
Mt. Carmel posted their closest victory yet this season on Wednesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Fallbrook and snuck past 53-51. Given Mt. Carmel's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 357th, while Fallbrook is ranked 808th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Mt. Carmel got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Raymond Hourani out in front who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 13 rebounds. Hourani hasn't dropped below two blocks for six straight games. Makai Orje was another key contributor, scoring 14 points.
Escondido suffered their biggest defeat since December 16, 2023 on Wednesday. They were outmatched by Westview on the road and fell 72-33.
Mt. Carmel has been performing well recently as they've won eight of their last ten contests, which provided a massive bump to their 12-9 record this season. As for Escondido, their defeat was their fifth straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 8-13.
Everything went Mt. Carmel's way against Escondido in their previous meeting on January 10th as Mt. Carmel made off with a 67-46 victory. With Mt. Carmel ahead 38-15 at the half, the contest was all but over already.
