Basketball Game Preview: Oceanside Mariners vs. Lawrence Bulldogs

The Oceanside Mariners will head out to challenge the Lawrence Bulldogs at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Oceanside sitting on nine straight wins and Lawrence on 11.

On Friday, Oceanside earned a 45-37 victory over Lincoln Academy. Given the Mariners' advantage in MaxPreps' Maine basketball rankings (they are ranked ninth, while the Eagles are ranked 80th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Aubrianna Hoose was her usual excellent self, going 8 of 15 en route to 29 points in addition to six rebounds and four steals. The match was her ninth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Renee Ripley, who posted four points along with ten boards and three blocks.

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

Meanwhile, Lawrence humbled Nokomis with a 73-34 victory. The Bulldogs have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won nine contests by 21 points or more this season.

Oceanside's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-2. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 24.8 points. As for Lawrence, their victory bumped their record up to 11-0.

Oceanside couldn't quite finish off Lawrence in their previous meeting back in December of 2016 and fell 53-50. Can Oceanside avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.