Basketball Game Preview: West Park Panthers vs. McClatchy Lions

A feisty cat fight will be fought when the West Park Panthers take on the McClatchy Lions at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday... West Park is coming into the matchup on a three-game losing streak.

On Monday, West Park was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 56-52 to Grant. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 369th, while the Pacers are ranked 133rd).

McClatchy played in conference for the first time on Friday and they got just the result they we're looking for. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Cordova 63-36. The Lions have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven contests by 27 points or more this season.

West Park better focus on containing Kai Bradford and Nehemiah Miller as the pair were huge in McClatchy's win. Bradford went 9 for 19 on his way to 26 points in addition to five assists and three steals, while Miller went 7 for 14 on his way to 19 points in addition to seven boards and five steals. The game was Bradford's eighth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Eugene Castillo, who posted 12 points.

McClatchy has been performing well recently as they've won eight of their last ten matches, which provided a nice bump to their 10-5 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 74.2 points per game. As for West Park, their loss dropped their record down to 10-9.