The Tomales Braves will take on the Point Arena Pirates at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Tomales has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the matchup with three straight losses, while Point Arena will come in with six straight wins.
Last Tuesday, Tomales was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 44-38 to Anderson Valley.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Ryan Murray, who dropped a double-double on 11 boards and ten blocks. Josh Flores was another key player, putting up ten points in addition to six steals and five assists.
Meanwhile, Point Arena didn't have too much trouble with Mendocino on Tuesday as they won 71-52.
Tomales better keep an eye on Fernando Lopez. He was instrumental in Point Arena's win, shooting 6-for-11 from long range and dropping a double-double on 36 points and ten rebounds. That makes it five consecutive games in which Lopez has scored at least a third of Point Arena's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Tosh Mouton, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 13 boards.
Point Arena smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 15 offensive boards in 45 consecutive games dating back to last season.
Point Arena pushed their record up to 16-3 with the victory, which was their seventh straight on the road. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 32 points. As for Tomales, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-8.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Tomales has been crashing the rebounds this season, having averaged 33.2 boards per game. However, it's not like Point Arena struggles in that department as they've been averaging 48.9 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Tomales was dealt a bruising 73-39 loss at the hands of Point Arena when the teams last played on January 7th. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Lopez, who shot 5-for-8 from deep and dropped a double-double on 21 points and 12 boards. Now that Tomales knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
