Basketball Game Preview: Sanger Apaches vs. Bakersfield Drillers

Having just played yesterday, the Sanger Apaches will jump right back in to play the Bakersfield Drillers at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday. One thing working in Sanger's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points every time they've taken the court this season.

Sanger's tournament run continued when they took on Ridgeview on Wednesday. Sanger came out on top against Ridgeview by a score of 64-55.

While Bakersfield didn't have the best season last year (they finished 6-19), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They blew past McFarland, posting a 77-44 win. Given the Drillers' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 93rd, while the Cougars are ranked 431st), the result on Wednesday wasn't entirely unexpected.

Sanger better focus on containing Kade Johnson and Rashaan Shehee as the pair were huge in Bakersfield's win. Johnson went 9 of 15 on his way to 19 points and five boards, while Shehee went 6 of 13 on his way to 17 points. Shehee continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Keshawn Black, who posted seven points and 12 rebounds.

Bakersfield's victory bumped their record up to 7-2. As for Sanger, their win bumped their record up to 7-1.