Basketball Game Preview: St. Monica Academy Crusaders vs. Vasquez Mustangs

Having just played yesterday, the St. Monica Academy Crusaders will head out on the road to face off against the Vasquez Mustangs at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.

St. Monica Academy is probably headed into the match with a chip on their shoulder considering Faith Baptist just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Thursday. They fell just short of the Contenders by a score of 42-39. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Crusaders have suffered since January 5, 2024.

Meanwhile, Vasquez entered their tilt with Santa Clarita Christian on Thursday with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. They enjoyed a cozy 58-41 win over the Cardinals. The Mustangs pushed the score to 52-31 by the end of the third, a deficit the Cardinals cut but never quite recovered from.

Vasquez's win came from a few key players St. Monica Academy will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Gavin Battey, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 11 rebounds. Those 11 boards gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Daeron Bankett, who posted 11 points and five steals.

Vasquez smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in four consecutive games.

Vasquez has been performing well recently as they've won 11 of their last 13 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 19-7 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 72.0 points per game. As for St. Monica Academy, their loss dropped their record down to 9-12.

St. Monica Academy came up short against Vasquez in their previous matchup on January 15th, falling 74-62. Can St. Monica Academy avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.