Preview: Liberty Ranch Hawks vs. Union Mine Diamondbacks
Liberty Ranch and Union Mine are an even 5-5 against one another since February of 2020, but not for long. The Liberty Ranch Hawks will head out on the road to face off against the Union Mine Diamondbacks at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Liberty Ranch has struggled recently with three defeats in a row, while Union Mine will arrive with five straight victories.
Last Friday, Liberty Ranch was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 44-38 to Rosemont.
Meanwhile, Union Mine put the finishing touches on their 12th blowout victory of the season on Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Galt 83-39 at home. The matchup was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 51-20.
Union Mine relied on the efforts of Ethan Gines, who scored seven points along with 14 assists and seven rebounds, and Nate Sweet, who scored 25 points. Gines has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last three times he's played. Allan Mata'u was another key contributor, scoring 12 points.
Liberty Ranch has been struggling recently, as they've lost five of their last six matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-15 record this season. As for Union Mine, their victory was their 16th straight at home, which pushed their record up to 21-2.
Liberty Ranch might still be hurting after the 71-47 loss they got from Union Mine in their previous matchup on January 5th. Can Liberty Ranch avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
